CFTF V: Throw Away The Oars Forever
by TracyJean
Summary: Harm and Mac prepare to become man and wife
1. Chapter 1

TUESDAY, 15 AUGUST  
1605 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Mac sat on the couch, lost in thought and idly doodling in a notebook while conversation flowed around her. She couldn't get her mind off the awkwardness the previous night when she and Harm had gone to bed, only for Harm to start feeling guilty the minute he had to look at her healing wound. She'd had such high hopes for her release from the hospital and though they had eventually gotten past the moment, the damage had been done and she couldn't shake from her mind the look in Harm's eyes, the guilt over her injury. Just as she couldn't shake the guilt in the pit of her own soul for allowing herself to be injured, an injury which had threatened the lives of their babies.

Mac jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her arm, then relaxed when she realized it was just her future mother-in-law. "I'm sorry, Mom," Mac said weakly. "What were you saying?"

Trish looked at the young woman she'd come during the past weeks to love as a daughter. She'd seen the haunted look in Mac's eyes and she was concerned that though the physical wounds of her attack were healing, the emotional ones would continue to cause their pain for a time to come. It reminded her of the look she'd seen in her son's eyes during the week that Mac had been hospitalized.

"I was just wondering if you are okay, Mac," Trish said lightly. "You looked like you were off in your own little world there."

Mac looked up from her notebook to see everyone's eyes on her - Trish, Frank, Matt and Sydney. Come on, pull it together, Marine, she admonished herself as she said aloud, "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about ... everything."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Sydney asked.

Mac tried to smile, hoping to ease their concern. She did want to talk, but the one she really needed to talk with wasn't present at the moment. "I'm fine, really," she insisted. "I thought we were here to talk about a wedding."

Matt looked at his niece for a long moment, then looked at the others, shaking his head. They were all equally concerned, but four on one was probably not the best way to approach it. It might appear, despite their good intentions and concern, that they were ganging up on her, trying to force her to talk about whatever was bothering her. "We are," Matt agreed. "Probably the first thing to be decided is when and where you want to get married. Have you and Harm talked about that at all?"

"We did agree last night that we wanted to get married as soon as we possibly can," Mac revealed. "After all, before too much longer, I won't be able to fit into a wedding gown. And I don't want to wait until after the babies are born. As for where, I don't really have a preference. I've never really seen a place that jumped out at me, making me think I wanted to have my wedding there."

"What about Harm?" Sydney asked, looking from Mac to Trish and Frank. "Has he ever said anything about wanting to get married any particular place?"

As Mac shook her head, Frank jumped in, squeezing his wife's hand, "When we took Harm to Annapolis for college, he was fascinated by the fact that Trish and his father had been married at the chapel there. We haven't been there since Harm graduated, but I do recall it being quite beautiful and there is the family history factor."

"I never thought of that," Mac said thoughtfully, "and the family history aspect would be important to Harm. If you don't have a problem with it, Mom, I'll discuss the idea with Harm when he gets home."

"Why would I have a problem with it?" Trish asked. "I have very happy memories of my wedding day in that chapel. I think it would be perfect for you and Harm."

"Okay," Mac agreed. "I will mention it to Harm this evening. If he agrees, then I would love to get married at Annapolis. But maybe I should call and find out what is the earliest date the chapel is available. Discussing it with Harm may be moot if it's not available."

Trish picked up the cordless phone from the end table and handed it to Mac. "There's no time like the present," she said.

Mac took the phone and quickly dialed a number from memory. "Gunny, it's Colonel Mackenzie," she said when the phone was picked up on the other end.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Gunny replied. "How are you doing, ma'am?"

"I'm fine, Gunny," Mac answered. "Could you find me the number for the chapel at the Naval Academy?"

"Sure, just give me a minute, ma'am," Gunny said as he began punching keys on his computer. After a moment, he found the number. "It's 410-293-1100, ma'am."

"Thank you, Gunny," Mac said. "Is Commander Rabb there by chance?"

"No, ma'am," Gunny answered. "He left the building for lunch."

"Okay," she said, sighing. "I'll just talk to him later. Thank you, Gunny." After his own goodbye, she pressed the flash button and dialed the number for the chapel at Annapolis.

After the third ring, a woman's cheerful voice answered, "Thank you for calling the Naval Academy chapel, this is Lyla. How may I direct your call?"

"I'm not sure who I need to talk to," Mac said, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "My fiancé is an Academy graduate and I'd like to find out about the possibility of getting married at the chapel."

"Let me transfer you to Mary, our wedding scheduler," Lyla said. "She can help you with anything you need."

"Thank you," Mac replied as hold music came over the phone. Placing her hand over the mouth piece, she told everyone, "I'm being transferred to the wedding scheduler."

After a moment, another woman's voice came over the line, "This is Mary, the chapel wedding scheduler. I understand you'd like to inquire about holding a wedding here. Is either the bride or groom an Academy graduate?"

"Yes," Mac answered, "my fiancé graduated in '85."

"Have to ask that," Mary explained. "We only allow Academy graduates to hold their weddings here. The names of the groom and bride?"

"Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie," Mac said.

There was a pause while Mary wrote down the information. "Colonel, do you have a specific date in mind? I should warn you that certain times of the year are easier to book than others."

Mac took a deep breath. She hadn't thought of that. She mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that early fall was not a busy time of year for the chapel. "We haven't really discussed a specific date," she said, "just that it be sooner rather than later. See, I'm expecting twins in February and we 'd like to get married before too much longer."

"I understand completely," Mary said. "Let me look at the calendar and see if we have any openings coming up. Um, looks like we have an opening the morning of 30 September. Although, depending on how big you want this, six weeks may not be enough time to prepare."

"Well, neither of us has much family," Mac considered, "so most of the guests are going to be friends and people we work with. With most of those people being military, some of our friends might not even be able to make it due to location. I don't see six weeks being a problem. Hold on a second, please." Mac put her hand over the mouthpiece at a gesture from Trish.

"Honey," Trish said, "don't worry about how much time until the wedding. Since you're still recovering, you're probably not in the best condition to be planning a wedding. I'm sure it will be no problem getting all your friends to chip in the help plan everything."

"I don't know ..." Mac trailed off.

"Sarah," Matt jumped in, "all your friends came together to get you moved into your home in a day. I'm sure between everyone, we can all put together a wedding in six weeks." Trish, Frank and Sydney all nodded their agreement.

Mac nodded in return as she returned to the phone call. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "I was just discussing planning with our families. 30 September looks like a good date."

"Good date for what?" Harm asked from the doorway.

"A wedding!" Mac answered, her voice excited, as she waved him over to the couch. She said into the phone, "Sorry about that again. My fiancé just walked in. Let me put you on speaker phone." She pressed a button on the base of the phone.

"Mary, this is my fiancée, Commander Rabb," Mac said. "Harm, this is Mary, the wedding scheduler at Annapolis." Mac knew from the way his face lit up that Annapolis was the right choice for their wedding. He sat down next to her on the couch and squeezed her hand, a brilliant smile on his face.

"Harm, Mary was just saying that the chapel is available the morning of 30 September," Mac told him. "Six weeks doesn't give us a lot of time, but everyone seems to want to chip in on the planning."

"30 September sounds perfect," he said softly.

"Okay, Mary, I guess you can put us down for 30 September," Mac said. "What else do we need to know or do?"

"Most importantly," Mary said, "we insist on a session with one of the chaplains. Kind of a pre-marital counseling and information session all rolled into one. Do you have a preference on denomination?"

Harm and Mac looked at each other for a moment before Harm answered, "Probably should keep this non-denominational."

"That's not a problem," Mary said. "Let me see. How far are you from Annapolis?"

"We're in DC," Mac answered. "Distance is not a problem if we have to come to the Academy before the wedding."

"Then I have an opening this Friday at thirteen hundred hours," Mary said.

"I don't know," Harm said to Mac. "You did just get out of the hospital and you're not supposed to go on long trips for a few weeks."

"I don't think an hour to Annapolis can be considered a long trip," Mac pointed out. "Anyway, it would be good to do the counseling session before I have to return to work next week, that way only one of us has to ask the Admiral for the afternoon off."

"Still, I would feel better if we talked to Dr. Newman before we agreed to go to Annapolis on Friday," Harm said.

"Why don't I go ahead and schedule the appointment," Mary suggested, "and you can just call and reschedule if necessary."

"That will work," Harm said as Mac nodded her assent.

"Decorating the chapel is not something you need to worry about," Mary said, "other than what colors and types of flowers you want. We have a group on campus that does the decorating for all weddings at the chapel."

"We'll have to think about the colors," Mac said, smiling at Harm, "but the flowers are easy. Roses, definitely." Harm returned the smile.

"You know, Colonel," Mary pointed out, "roses aren't exactly in season the end of September."

"If it's a problem," Mac said firmly, "we can take care of obtaining the flowers and your people can decorate. But it has to be roses."

"Sorry," Harm said, "it's a 'when and how we met' kind of thing. Roses are very important to us. The wedding wouldn't be right without them."

"Understandable," Mary replied. "As far as the reception goes, there are several places on or off-campus that it can be held at. If you do make it here on Friday, I can make sure an information packet is put together for you. If you call and have to reschedule, then I can just mail the information to you."

"That will be fine," Mac said. "Anything else?"

"Right now, no," Mary answered. "Let me give you my direct number if you need to call for anything, for instance rescheduling your appointment on Friday." Mac wrote down the number Mary gave her in the notebook and clicked off the phone after thanking her for her help. She looked at Harm expectantly.

"Thank you," Harm said, "but are you sure there isn't someplace important to you where you'd like to hold the wedding? We don't have to have it at the Academy just to please me."

"Well, I think getting everyone to Red Rock Mesa would be a logistical nightmare," Mac said, pretending to ponder the idea, "and I think it would just plain be a nightmare to try and hold the wedding at the Rose Garden where we met. Hence, Annapolis."

Harm laughed at her logic, "You win. Annapolis it is."

"What's this about a rose garden?" Sydney asked. "I haven't heard that story."

"The Admiral didn't tell you?" Mac asked, surprised. When Sydney shook her head, Mac explained, "I was pulled off a double murder investigation to work this mail holdup as a temporary assignment out of JAG headquarters. I was ordered to meet with Admiral Chegwidden at this ceremony he was attending at the White House. The ceremony was Harm receiving his first Distinguished Flying Cross."

"The White House?" Sydney asked. "You mean you met in the Rose Garden?" At Harm and Mac's nods, she laughed, "The way you met, it sounds like fate that you would get together."

"Only took them four years to realize it," Frank added.

"While everyone else realized it almost from the beginning," Matt continued. "You know, I asked my niece, not long after I met Harm, 'Where'd you find this sailor, Sarah?'. After she said 'In a Rose Garden, Uncle Matt,' this look passed between her and Harm. Seemed obvious to me."

"You should have heard some of Harm's calls to me after they met," Trish revealed. "All I heard was 'Mac this, Mac that'. Then, once, I make an innocent little comment about how Mac seemed like a nice girl and you'd think I was suggesting they go pick out china patterns from the look on Harm's face."

"You know," Mac interrupted, "if this is going to turn into a 'let's talk about what idiots Harm and Mac have been for the last four years' kind of discussion, we can leave you to it and find a nice quiet place to have lunch by ourselves."

Everyone laughed. "Okay, let's leave Harm and Mac alone," Sydney suggested, making a mental note to pump AJ for information later. "We can save the 'what idiots Harm and Mac have been' stories for the engagement party."

Harm and Mac almost groaned as everyone laughed. "You know, I'm beginning to think elopement is sounding pretty good," Mac whispered as she leaned against Harm.

"Are you kidding?" he whispered back. "They'd kill us if we cheated them out of the wedding they've been waiting for all this time."

-----

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

FRIDAY, 18 AUGUST  
1510 ZULU  
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Are you okay?" Harm asked as he parked his SUV in a lot just down the street from the chapel.

"I'm fine," Mac insisted. "Just as I was fine the last ten times you asked. Harm, I've just been sitting in a car for the last hour, not running a marathon. Don't worry about me. I'm getting better every day and I do go back to work on Monday."

Harm looked down at his hands gripping the steering wheel, unsure what to say. How could he explain something he didn't completely understand himself? He'd always looked out for Mac, as she had always looked out for him, but this was so much different. He'd never cared this much about anyone before and it scared him.

Mac was silent for a moment, waiting for him to reply. When he didn't, she continued, "Obsessing over my well-being isn't going to turn back the clock and undo what happened. And that's what you've been doing ever since I got out of the hospital on Monday. Every time you look at my wound, every time I have to stop and catch my breath, I see that look in your eyes - the one that says you can't stop thinking about what happened. You can't watch over me twenty-four hours a day, every day. Harm, I don't want to become another one of your obsessions."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, shrugging. "I just don't know ... how to get past this."

She cupped his chin in her hand and turned his head to face her. "I don't have all the answers either," she said firmly. "But shutting each other out isn't the answer. I thought we would have learned that, if nothing else, from what happened on the ferry. Anyway, we have survived so much together. We can get past this too, but neither of us can do it alone."

Harm gave her a wan smile. "I know," he said. "I just wish it were as easy as it sounds."

"Me, too," Mac agreed, quickly brushing her lips against his. "Now, since we're early and you did say something about getting lunch down here, how about it? I'm starving."

Harm had to chuckle a little at that. It was comforting the way some things never changed. "The O Club is on the other side of the parking lot," he said. "How does that sound?"

"It will sound better once I have food in front of me," she replied.

-----

After a leisurely lunch at the Officers' Club, they still had time to kill before their thirteen hundred appointment, so Mac insisted Harm give her the grand tour of the campus.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" he asked. "I don't want you to over do it." At the stern look Mac shot him, he shrugged and added, "I know, I'm hovering again. Promise you'll tell me if you need to take a break."

"Promise," she said, smiling. "Now, come on. I want to see everything and don't forget to include the stories of all the trouble you got into while here."

Harm raised his eyebrows and grinned at her, a 'Who, me?' look in his eyes, while he made a mental note to find out what Keeter might have told her about their college days during the two days they had spent in the Iranian desert.

Pushing the thought aside, he launched into his role as tour guide. "Over there, just past the lot where we parked," he said, pointing to a large field to their right, "is Worden Field, the Academy parade grounds. Midshipmen are graded on their performance in parades and drill work and based on those marks, the Color Company is chosen."

"I assume most, if not all of these buildings are named after Naval heroes," Mac said.

"Of course," Harm replied. "In this case, Rear Admiral Worden was commander of the _USS Monitor_."

"The _Monitor_ and the _Merrimack_," Mac murmured.

"You know your history," he commented.

"So do you," she returned. "What, do they teach you the history of the Academy and all its buildings and who they're named after?"

"Of course," he said, joking. "Naval History 101. It's amazing when you think of all the famous people who walked these grounds - Leahy, Halsey, Nimitz."

"Tell me this," Mac asked, "is there a single building on this campus named after a Marine?"

"At the Naval Academy?" he teased.

"Which Marines attend," she retorted. "Does that mean no?"

"Actually, there is one building named after a Marine," he told her. "Lejeune Hall is named after ..."

"General John A. Lejeune," Mac continued, interrupting, "the first Marine to command an Army division."

"Very good," he said. "He graduated from the Academy in the 1880s, I believe. Lejeune Hall is the phys ed center and also houses the Athletic Hall of Fame."

As they walked towards the bay, Harm didn't comment on several buildings on their left. Mac figured they would get back to them, as she was almost positive one of them was the chapel. He pointed out Lejeune Hall on their left as they passed it. They then turned to the left once they reached the bay and walked along the water front.

"It's so beautiful here," Mac commented, rubbing her arms.

"Cold?" Harm asked.

"I know it's August," Mac said, nodding, "but there is a bit of a chill in the air here. But it feels good."

"That's the wind coming off the bay," he told her. "It can get quite windy here. It's nice during the summer to ward off the heat, but can be very uncomfortable during the winter."

"You've never really talked a lot about your life at the Academy," Mac said. "Aside from the little you told me in Iran about going UA, that is."

"I don't know why," Harm said. "I loved it here, but I think I was so focused on becoming a Naval officer, on following in my father's footsteps, that it wasn't often that I stopped and allowed myself to enjoy life here. Maybe that's why it all got to me and I began doubting myself and I went UA. Anyway, you've never talked much about your college days either."

"Probably because I was still picking up the pieces of my life after drying out," she pointed out, stopping to lean against the barrier along the waterfront as she stared out over the bay. "I think I kind of cut myself off from everyone and just about everything. I was so determined to get my act together, to join the Corps, to prove to myself that I was worth something. I was very lonely during college. I didn't really have a lot of friends, not like you did with Keeter and Diane."

"Thank you," Harm said, coming over to stand next to her.

Mac turned to look at him, a puzzled look on her face. "For what?" she asked.

"For helping me get past her death," he said quietly. "Thanks to you, it doesn't feel like a knife in my gut every time I hear her name. Your friendship helped me get past the pain of her death and that allowed me to fall in even more in love with you than I already was. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there for me."

Mac felt the tears stinging her eyes. Once, it had hurt to think of the woman who had her face who had held Harm's heart for so long, but not anymore. "That's what friends are for," she said simply, reaching over to clasp his hand in hers.

"Not just friends, not anymore," he said, resisting the urge to ignore the uniforms they both wore and to take her in his arms.

"I don't think you could ever quantify what is between us as 'just friends,' even back in the beginning," she pointed out.

"True, but our friendship was the foundation for everything that came later," Harm said, smiling at her.

"You know," she said, "I can't imagine anything better than having fallen in love with my best friend."

After a few moments standing by the water in companionable silence, discreetly holding hands, they continued their walking tour of the 'Yard,' while Harm continued with his narration of the history of the campus and buildings, adding several anecdotes from his life at the Academy.

"I knew you had to have pulled some pranks at the Academy," Mac teased, trying hard not to laugh, after he explained how, on a dare from Keeter, he had snuck out of Bancroft Hall, the Academy dorm, one night and decorated the statue of the Indian chief Tecumseh - which stood at the entrance to T-court, the dormitory's courtyard - with shaving cream.

"Keeter thought I needed to lighten up a little bit," Harm justified.

"Did they figure out who did it?"

"Nah, got away clean," he said proudly. "It wasn't the first or last time the statue got bathed in shaving cream. I think they expect something to happen to the statue at least once a term."

Finally, Mac saw the Officers' club and the parking lot where they had parked off to their right and in front of them the three buildings Harm had bypassed earlier. "On the right is the Administration building," Harm said, "where the Superintendent and Academic Dean have their offices. On the left here is the super's house."

"Very nice," Mac said idly, staring at the building directly in front of them. "Is that ... ?"

Harm took a deep breath. He'd seen the building every day for the four years he'd been at the Academy, but this time was different. This time he was seeing it through the eyes of a man planning to marry his love there. "Yes," he replied, "that's the chapel, the Cathedral of the Navy."

"It looks very beautiful from the outside," Mac said softly. "Can we go inside?"

A bit nervously, Harm took her arm and led her up the steps to the chapel door. They paused just outside the open door, not quite ready to go in. "I can't believe how nervous I am," Mac said in awe. "We're really getting married here, aren't we?"

"I know what you mean," Harm agreed. "Ready to go inside?"

At Mac's nod, he led her inside, stopping at the rear of the chapel. Mac turned slowly, staring at the huge chapel in awe. "It's beautiful," she whispered, mindful of the people scattered in the pews, praying. "I didn't realize how big it is."

"I think it holds 2500 or something like that," Harm commented.

"Twenty-five ...?" Mac asked, incredulous. "Good thing we're not expected to fill this place."

"So what's the verdict, counselor?" he asked, sitting down and gesturing for her to join him. "Want to get married here?"

"It's perfect," she said softly. "I'm glad Frank made me think of it. He's the one who first mentioned that your parents got married here."

"We'll both have to thank him," he said, no longer surprised at what Frank would do for him.

"Excuse me," a voice beside them said. Harm and Mac both turned to see an older gentleman in summer whites, captain's stripes and chaplain corps insignia on his shoulder boards, standing at the end of the pew. "Do you need any assistance?"

"We've got a meeting in ..." Harm began.

"Twelve minutes," Mac cut in as Harm went to look at his watch.

"To discuss getting married here," he finished.

"Commander Rabb, Colonel Mackenzie? I'm Captain Duncan, the command chaplain here," the chaplain said, holding out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Harm then Mac shook the offered hand and the chaplain sat down in the pew in front of them, turning to the side to face them. "It's good to meet you, too, Captain," Harm said, idly playing with the Marine Corps ring on Mac's right hand. "So what exactly happens at this meeting?"

"We just discuss what you want for your wedding, things like that," Duncan said. "Nothing earth shattering, so you can both relax."

Both Harm and Mac laughed a little at that. "Sorry," Mac said, "I think it's just hitting us that we're really doing this. It's been a long time coming."

"Too long, if you ask our family and friends," Harm added.

"Why don't we go back to my office and see if Mary's there yet?" the chaplain suggested. "When I checked a few minutes ago, she hadn't returned from lunch yet."

The three officers stood and Harm and Mac followed the chaplain back to his office. He gestured for them to take a seat while he took his chair behind his desk. They made small talk for a few minutes until there was a knock on the office door.

"Enter," the chaplain called out.

"Sorry I'm late, Reverend Duncan," the woman said as she entered the room. "I had a phone call about another wedding just as I returned from lunch." She turned to Harm and Mac, extending her hand. "Commander Rabb, Colonel Mackenzie, I'm Mary," she introduced herself as they shook hands. "We spoke on the phone a few days ago."

"It's nice to meet you," Mac said. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Harm nervously before asking, "So what now?"

"First, let's discuss the date," Duncan suggested. "Mary told you that we have an opening the morning of 30 September. The start time for the ceremony is up to you, but you should keep in mind that there is a home football game that day at noon, so there will be a lot of traffic around the Yard leading up to game time and after the game."

"I'm not sure," Mac said. "I guess it doesn't really matter what time the ceremony starts. We've been thinking about spending the night before up here anyway, so that we don't have to rush to get here in the morning. How long would the service take?"

"Well, since you said you wanted non-denominational, it would just be the wedding ceremony itself, instead of a full-blown church service," Duncan said. "Depending on how many readings are done, if you say your own vows to each other, that kind of thing, I'd say about forty-five minutes for the ceremony itself, give or take. Then, of course, there's the arch of swords, getting everyone over to the reception location and the reception itself."

"It might be best to keep the reception on campus," Harm said to Mac. "Then we don't have to fight the traffic arriving for the game."

Mary handed him a large envelope she had brought in with her. "Here's the information I told you about on possible reception sites," she said. "If you'd like to hold it on campus, you would coordinate it through the Officers' Club, no matter which location you'd like to use."

"What is available on campus?" Mac asked.

"Aside from the O Club, there's the Alumni Hall, the Alumni House - which is actually just outside the Yard, the Crown Sailing Center is good if you're looking for something small and intimate, or the Boat House on College Creek has nice waterfront balconies," Mary told them. "The most popular site is the O Club, mostly because it is just two buildings away from the chapel. The club can accommodate up to 200 guests."

Mac leaned closer to Harm and said quietly, "If we start at ten hundred, the ceremony would run to ten forty-five. That would leave us fifteen minutes to do the arch and get everyone over to the O Club, assuming we can hold the reception there. I'd say then a minimum of three hours at the reception before we leave. That takes us up to fourteen hundred hours. That should give us a chance to get out of here before the game ends, so everyone can avoid most of the traffic. A place that accommodates 200 should be big enough for what we want."

Harm nodded then turned to the chaplain and asked, "How does ten hundred sound? That should give us enough time to work around the game traffic, yet it's not so early that everyone has to drag themselves out of bed to get ready."

"Okay, ten hundred it is," the chaplain said as he wrote it down on a notepad. "We also need to discuss the format you want for the ceremony, specific personal touches you want to add and things like that."

-----

"Are you okay?" Harm asked as he and Mac stepped out of the chapel and stood on the front steps. "You were very quiet through the last part of that meeting when it was just us and Captain Duncan."

Mac smiled wanly and shrugged, "Sorry. I knew part of this was supposed to be a counseling session, but it still bothers me to talk about some of this, especially with outsiders. Hell, I couldn't even face telling you about Chris until it was too late and I'm closer to you than anyone. But here I had to discuss my disaster of a marriage with a complete stranger."

"Well, I suppose as someone who unites people in marriage," Harm said, "it's the chaplain's duty to make sure that the people involved know what it will take to make the marriage last. And that includes discussing mistakes made in previous marriages."

"I guess," Mac replied, "but I would have rather just said the entire marriage was a mistake that never should have happened and left it at that. Instead, I have to get into specifics about why it ended." She broke off and laughed a little. "I'm the one who doesn't want to talk about it, yet here I am going on about it."

"Why don't we get out of here?" Harm suggested. "We can go home, relax and I'll make you dinner later."

"Make me dinner, huh?" Mac mused. "No meatless meatloaf, though."

"Are you doggin' ...?"

Mac smiled as she jabbed a finger in his chest, teasing, "I think I want a prenup. You are forbidden from making Harm's special meatless meatloaf at any time during our marriage. Violation of that clause will bring about dire consequences."

"Dire consequences?" he repeated. "And what would those be?"

"Push it and you'll find out," she promised, a gleam in her eyes. She started down the steps, then turned back to him, a serious look on her face. "We're really doing this, aren't we?"

"Getting married?" he asked. "Yes, we are - six weeks from tomorrow."

She stepped back towards him and, disregarding military protocol, wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight Startled, it took Harm a moment to recover, but then he returned the embrace, trying to ignore the looks they drew from several passersby.

Mac pulled away and laughed nervously. "Sorry about that," she said. "I'm just overwhelmed. I can't believe this is finally happening. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Sarah."

-----

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

SUNDAY, 20 AUGUST  
1500 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Admiral, Sydney, I'm glad you could make it," Mac said as she ushered the pair into the house. "Everyone's out back."

"Mac, please call me AJ," he insisted. "And we're glad to be here. How are you feeling?"

"Ready to return to work tomorrow," Mac replied with a laugh.

"I can understand that," Sydney said. "How was the trip to Annapolis yesterday?"

"It was very productive. I'll fill you all in out back," Mac said as she led them through the house, stopping in the kitchen. "What would you like to drink? We've got beer, sodas, water, tea and coffee."

"I'll take a beer," AJ said.

"I'll just have water," Sydney said as Mac opened the fridge. She pulled out the requested drinks and handed them to AJ and Sydney. As she handed Sydney her bottled water, a glimmer on Sydney's left hand caught Mac's eye.

"Is that what I think it is?" Mac asked.

Sydney held out her hand to show off her ring, smiling widely. "AJ proposed last night," she said. "We're thinking about a wedding next summer. I've always wanted to have an outdoor wedding."

"Congratulations," Mac said, hugging Sydney before turning to kiss AJ's cheek. "I'm very happy for both of you."

"Thank you, Mac," AJ said, putting his arm around Sydney's shoulder.

"Mac, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my matron of honor?" Sydney asked. "I consider you to be a very good friend and I can't imagine anyone else I would rather have stand up for me."

"Thank you," Mac said, hugging Sydney again. "I'd be very honored. You've been a very good friend to me too the last few months and I appreciate that. In fact, I wanted to ask you if you would be a bridesmaid at my wedding and stand in as kind of a 'mother of the bride' during the preparations."

"I'm honored that you're asking me," Sydney said, tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

"Hey, are you okay?" Harm asked, coming into the kitchen from the back porch as Mac and Sydney pulled apart, wiping tears from their eyes.

"Fine," Mac said, taking his hand. "Sydney was just sharing some good news."

"I asked Sydney to marry me last night," AJ said, "and she accepted."

"Congratulations, Sir, Sydney," Harm said, shaking AJ's hand then turning to hug Sydney. "I know you two will be very happy together."

"Thank you, Harm," AJ said. "And please, it's AJ. Especially since I'd like you to serve as my best man."

"Well, Sir ... AJ, I'm honored that you would ask me," Harm said. "Thank you."

"I have some more news," AJ said. "I had a meeting with the SecNav yesterday afternoon while you two were in Annapolis. Commander, do you remember when you temporarily served as a military liaison to the House Armed Services Committee?"

"Yes, Sir," Harm replied warily, feeling deep down that he knew where this was going.

"Well, to solve the problem of you and Mac serving in the same chain of command, it was suggested by Bobbi Latham that we revive that position on a permanent basis," AJ said. "The SecNav, after due consideration, agreed. Now, I did invoke Admiral's privilege and insist on a few conditions before I would sign off on it."

"And those would be, Sir?" Mac asked, glancing at Harm with sympathy. She knew he had not been very pleased with the way his first assignment as House military liaison had gone.

"The first would be that Harm would maintain his office at JAG and work out of there unless circumstances required his presence either at the Pentagon or on the Hill," AJ informed them. "Second, and most important, whenever Harm is not busy with the duties of his new position, then he would be 'on loan' to JAG to work as an investigator and trial counsel."

Harm turned to Mac and asked, "What do you think?"

"It sounds like the best solution we could hope for under the circumstances," she said, clasping his hand. "I know you weren't exactly happy with your last tour on the Hill, but at least you are aware of what the job entails. You don't have the stress of learning a new position. Plus, you still do get to work as a lawyer at JAG. It sounds like the best of both worlds. The chain of command problem is solved, yet we still get to work together whenever possible."

Harm nodded then turned back to AJ. "I have to agree," he said. "It probably is the best possible solution for this situation. So, I accept the position. When would it start?"

"I figured you would," AJ said. "We all agreed that things would remain as is until after you return from your honeymoon. That will give you a chance to wrap up any cases you currently are working on. After you return, then we will work on integrating your workload on the Hill with any new cases you are assigned at JAG."

"Thank you, Sir – I mean, AJ," Mac said, smiling. "It means a lot to both of us that you would work out something like this for us."

"Well, from a command standpoint, we uphold regs but I don't have to choose which one of my best attorneys that I am going to lose, nor do I break up the best team JAG has," AJ explained.

"Thank you, AJ," Harm said.

"Good. Now that we have settled that," AJ said. "why don't we go join everyone else out back? I believe we have a wedding to plan."

The foursome stepped out onto the back porch. Frank and Matt were manning the barbeque grill at one end of the porch while Trish looked on, offering cooking suggestions. Jackie Mattoni and Harriet were keeping an eye on little AJ play with Jingo at the other end of the porch while watching their husbands toss a Frisbee with Alfred, Tiner and Gunny. Carolyn and Loren, sitting on the porch steps, were also watching the game.

Loren said something to Carolyn, who turned and shot Mac a look as if to ask 'Why did you invite her?' Mac shrugged as she sat down on the step just behind them.

"You have a very nice house, Colonel," Singer said politely, taking a sip of her bottled water.

"Thank you, Lauren," Mac replied with a smile. Louder, so that everyone could hear, she said, "Please, no ranks today. Since everyone was kind enough to come here today to help us plan our wedding, I think we can dispense with protocol for the afternoon."

Harm wandered over to the grill and asked, "How are we doing on food and supplies?"

"We could use some more sauce," Matt said, holding up a nearly empty jar of barbeque sauce.

"I think we could use some more chips, too," Trish said. "Also, last time I checked the fridge, bottled water was running low. As hot as it is today, we could probably use some more."

Mac, who was listening to the conversation, jumped in, "Harm, as long as you're planning a run to the store, Carolyn made a good suggestion. How about some frozen drink mix? That would be perfect on a hot day like today."

"Virgin frozen drinks, of course, out of respect for the mommies-to-be present," Carolyn added.

"Anything else, ladies?" Harm asked with a sarcastic grin.

"Well, while you're at it ..." Mac began sweetly.

"Don't tell me," he said with a sigh. "Something with chocolate."

"You got it," she said, smiling.

Little AJ, noticing that Harm was preparing to leave, toddled over and grabbed onto Harm's leg. He looked up and asked hopefully, "Go bye-bye?"

Harm swung the little boy up into his arms and rubbed his nose to AJ's. "You want to go bye-bye, huh?" Harm asked. "Let's see what mommy has to say."

"Are you sure you don't mind taking him, Sir ... sorry, Harm?" Harriet asked. At Harm's nod, she signaled to her husband and motioned for him to join them. "Bud, why don't you give Harm the keys to the minivan? He's going to the store and AJ wants to go along. That way he has the car seat for AJ."

"How much do you need to get, Sir?" Bud asked. "I could go with you to help out."

"Okay," Harm agreed. "And please call me Harm, Bud."

The men made their goodbyes and walked around the side of the house to the garage. Watching them go, Carolyn commented to Mac, "Harm's wonderful with little AJ. He's going to make a wonderful father."

"He is, isn't he?" Mac said wistfully.

"By the way, what's with the request for chocolate?" Carolyn asked.

"I need chocolate," she replied.

"Cravings, huh?" Sydney teased, leaning against the porch railing. "I remember when I was pregnant, I wanted ice cream all the time."

"Ice cream seems like a normal enough craving," Loren commented.

"Not in the middle of winter, it isn't," Sydney said dryly.

"At least Mac hasn't gotten the urge to clean out the refrigerator at JAG because she thinks there are things growing inside," AJ teased, causing Harriet's face to go beet red.

"I'm never going to live that one down, am I, Sir?" she asked.

At Sydney's questioning glance, Harriet explained, "When I was pregnant with AJ, I got this urge to clean. One day, it was the fridge at JAG and I threw out everything, including the risotto the Admiral had brought for lunch that day."

Everyone laughed, even Harriet after a moment, as she added, "At least I've been resisting the urge this time around. This time my urge to clean has centered on messy desks."

"I'm surprised Harm hasn't tried to get you to straighten up my desk," Mac said. "He once compared it to a free fire zone."

"Who says he hasn't?" Harriet shot back as everyone laughed again.

Mac pressed a hand to her right side and suggested, "Maybe we should talk about something else. It still hurts a little to laugh."

"When do you go back to the doctor, Mac?" Sydney asked.

"Wednesday morning," she replied. "I have to go see Dr. Newman to check on how my wound is healing and Dr. Calder wants to see me also. After everything that's happened, we have discussed doing an amnio for peace of mind."

"It will be okay," Sydney said, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "You and the babies have made it this far. I'm sure everything will be fine."

Mac patted Sydney's hand. "Thanks," she said. "I just keep trying to tell myself that."

-----

After Harm, Bud and little AJ returned, everyone sat down to eat and discuss the wedding at the picnic tables that Harm and Frank had set up in the yard, while Mac pulled out the list she had started of things to do.

"These may help, too," Harriet said, grabbing a couple of notebooks sitting next to her on the table and holding them out to Mac. "Jackie and I both brought our wedding planners with us today. They contain all the information on florists, musicians, things like that which were used at our weddings. It should give you an idea where to start."

"Thank you, Harriet, Jackie," Mac said, accepting the books. "I'm sure these will be a big help."

"Why don't you start, dear, by telling us about your trip yesterday?" Trish suggested. "Did you settle on a time for the wedding?"

"As I'm sure you've all heard by now," Mac began, "the wedding will be the morning of 30 September at the Academy chapel in Annapolis. After taking into consideration several things, including the fact that there is also a home football game at Navy that day, we decided that the ceremony will begin at ten hundred hours with the reception beginning immediately afterwards at the O Club."

"With the wedding being in the morning, were you planning on driving up that morning or staying overnight Friday?" Sydney asked.

"Since we will have the rehearsal Friday afternoon," Mac replied, "we thought it would be best to go ahead and book rooms in Annapolis Friday night. We got some information on local hotels, including several that will offer a discounted rate if we book a block of rooms, so if anyone wants to stay in Annapolis Friday night, please let Harm or I know so that we know how many rooms to book."

"On second thought, Mac, why don't you let me take care of that?" Harriet asked. "As matron of honor, it's my job to take care of the little stuff so you can concentrate on the big stuff."

"Thank you," Mac said gratefully. "Okay, everyone, change of plans. Anyone who wants to stay in Annapolis the night before the wedding, sign up with Harriet. Harriet, you can go ahead and put down rooms for me and Harm, Uncle Matt and Harm's parents."

"I take it you mean separate rooms for you and Harm?" Sydney teased.

"Separate rooms," she said with a sigh, shooting Sydney a 'do I have to?' look.

Harm leaned over and whispered to Mac, "Doesn't mean I can't sneak in to see you, does it?"

"You know," Carolyn said with a laugh, "we'd better make sure Harriet, as matron of honor, has plenty of money for Friday night."

"Money for what?" Frank asked, mystified.

Mac, Carolyn and Harriet all laughed as Mac explained, "For bailing the groom, the best man and the Admiral out of jail." AJ shot them all a quelling look, while Harm and Bud looked embarrassed, but the women only laughed harder.

"I'm afraid to ask what this is about," Matt commented.

"Good," AJ said. "Then don't."

"Speaking of wedding disasters, Mac," Carolyn continued, doubling over with laughter. "You might want to put a guard on Harm's dress whites this time."

Mac laughed even harder, clutching her side as she remembered the debacle with Harm's dress whites before Bud and Harriet's wedding. Harm shot her a dirty look and nudged her, but she only laughed harder.

"It wasn't that funny," Harm complained.

"Yes, it was," Carolyn managed through her own laughter. "Especially that picture ..."

"That wasn't me!"

"Let me guess," Trish cut in. "Something else we're better off not asking about?"

"Yes!" Harm exclaimed.

Mac leaned around Harm and whispered to Trish, "I'll tell you later," earning her another dirty look from her fiancé.

"Let's move on, people," AJ cut in, using his best 'command' voice.

"Maybe we should make a list of everything that went wrong before my wedding," Harriet suggested with a laugh. "Then we can take steps to avoid the same things happening this time."

"Lieutenant," AJ said in warning, shooting her a stern look while she tried to wipe the smile off her face.

"Speaking of dress whites," Mac began, earning yet another look from Harm. "No, I'm serious this time. This wedding will technically be in the fall. Whites will be out of season." She frowned at the thought of not getting to see Harm standing at the altar in his dress whites and gold wings.

"Well, local command does have the authority to decide when to implement the uniform regs," AJ began as Mac shot him a hopeful look. "I think that for the purposes of the wedding, we can declare whites to still be in season."

Mac breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Now that we've settled what the men will wear, what about the women?" Sydney asked.

"I don't know," Mac admitted. "It's kind of hard to dress a bridal party where both the bride and matron of honor will be pregnant."

"Why don't you let me take care of that?" Trish suggested. "I have some contacts with designers. I'm sure I can find one who can accommodate you and Harriet."

"We need to make sure whoever it is will be available for a last minute fitting," Mac reminded her. "Neither of us will look like we do now in six weeks' time."

"Done," Trish promised.

"Trish, if you have problems," AJ said, "let me know. My daughter works for a fashion magazine. She can probably suggest some designers, also."

"Thank you, both of you," Mac said. "Now that we have that situation under control, let's move on to the flowers. We want roses, which will also be slightly out of season."

"Why don't you let me handle that, ma'am?" Gunny suggested.

Mac smiled at him and nodded. Gunny had all kinds of contacts for finding all kinds of things. She had no doubt he could come up with roses for the wedding.

"Mac, why don't you let Bobbi handle the flowers for the bride's bouquet?" Harm whispered.

"You mean, like the flowers when you proposed?" she asked.

At Harm's nod, she told Gunny, "You just need to worry about the flowers to decorate the chapel and reception hall. We've got another source for the bride's bouquet." Gunny nodded his acceptance.

"What about colors, dear?" Trish asked.

"I was thinking of something like a dusky rose," Mac said. "Gunny, I'll get a color sample to give you so you can arrange for flowers in similar shades. Also, Mom, I was thinking of a lighter shade for the bridesmaid dresses and a darker one for Harriet. You should probably mention that to the designer so that he or she can have color samples for us to choose from."

"How many attendants are you having?" Matt asked.

"Four," Mac answered. "Harriet is matron of honor and Sydney, Carolyn and Jackie have agreed to be bridesmaids. On the groom's side, we've got Bud as best man and AJ, Alan and Keeter, Harm's Academy roommate, as groomsmen."

"God, we haven't seen Jack Keeter in years," Frank said. "Have you gotten a hold of him?"

"Clayton Webb is working on that," Harm said.

"I just thought of something," Mac exclaimed. "What is Uncle Matt going to wear when he walks me down the aisle?"

"I can just wear a suit, Sarah," Matt said. "It's not a problem."

Harm realized what Mac was getting at. "Why don't I check on that?" he suggested. "Your punishment didn't include loss of rank, only a fine and prison time, so you may be authorized to wear your uniform."

"I agree," AJ concurred. "We should be able to work something out on that point."

"Okay," Mac said, relieved. "Next big item on the list is food for the reception."

"I was wondering when you were going to get to the food," Harm commented dryly.

"Why don't you let me handle that, ma'am?" Loren suggested. "Remember the friend I mentioned who works for the Joint Chiefs? He coordinates the catering for all their events. I can find out who he uses."

Mac had to force herself to be polite. She had not forgiven or forgotten Loren's previous transgression, but she could hardly publicly turn down such a generous offer of help. "Thank you," she managed to say, forcing a smile, while Harm squeezed her hand under the table. "That would be appreciated."

"Not a problem, ma'am," Lauren said sweetly, while more than one person at the table struggled not to roll their eyes.

"I guess she figured she could get further with honey than vinegar," Carolyn whispered to Harriet.

By the time the food was gone, everyone had one or more tasks to handle and they all agreed to meet again the following weekend for a status report. Mac leaned against Harm's shoulder while everyone chatted around them. "We're so lucky to have such good friends."

"That we are," Harm agreed.

-----

1900 ZULU  
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT  
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

"I wish we could stay longer," Trish said as she and Frank prepared to board their private jet heading back to California. "But we both need to get back to work."

"Not a problem, Mom," Mac said. "You've done so much for us the last two weeks. You two need to get back to your own lives."

"Don't forget that you are part of those lives," Trish insisted. "If you need anything, just call anytime. And I'll call you once I have a line on a designer for the dresses."

Mac hugged the older woman, tears in her eyes. "Thank you again for everything," she said. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, dear," Trish returned. "Take care of my son and try to keep him out of trouble."

"I try," Mac replied as they broke apart and Trish turned to her son.

"And you take care of Mac and those babies," she told him. As Harm pulled her into his arms, she whispered, "Your father would be so proud of you."

"I know, Mom," he whispered back.

"Like Trish said," Frank told Mac as they hugged. "You call us anytime if you need anything. Take care of Harm, yourself and our grandchildren."

"I will, Frank," Mac promised. "Thank you for being here for us."

"Yes, thank you, Frank," Harm said as he offered a rare hug to his stepfather, while Trish and Mac watched misty-eyed. "I'll never forget everything you've done for me, for us."

"You don't have to thank me, son," Frank said, his own eyes watering. "I'd do anything for you."

"I know that now," Harm replied softly. They pulled apart and Frank picked up their carry-on bags while Harm pulled Mac to his side, holding her tight as they watched his parents board their plane.

"Do you know how lucky you are to have had two fathers who loved you?" Mac asked quietly after Trish and Frank were gone.

"I do now," Harm replied. "I do now."

-----

2100 ZULU  
AIR MOBILITY COMMAND TERMINAL  
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MARYLAND

Two hours later, Harm and Mac said another goodbye to family as Matt prepared to board a C-130 on the way to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where he would be taken by helo back to Leavenworth. Clayton Webb was present also, having decided to offer a personal escort.

"I love you, Sarah," Matt said as he hugged her tightly. "I look forward to seeing you again under far better circumstances."

"I'll be counting the hours until you return," she promised as Matt pulled away and turned to Harm.

"I don't have to tell you ..." Matt began.

"No, you don't," Harm interrupted. "I'll always take care of your niece."

"Don't worry, Uncle Matt," Mac said. "He always has taken care of me before."

"I know," Matt said, shaking Harm's hand. "But as family, I'm entitled to make sure."

"Goodbye, Matt," Harm said as Clay stepped up to the group, having held back a polite distance while they said their goodbyes. "We'll see you at the end of September."

"I look forward to it," Matt said. To Clay, he said, "I'm ready to go."

"Okay," Clay said. Before they could head for the plane, Mac put a hand on Clay's arm to stop him.

"Thank you, Clay," she said, "for arranging this. I'll never forget it."

Clay paused, a flip comment on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he simply smiled and nodded as he and Matt turned to leave.

-----

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

MONDAY, 21 AUGUST  
1150 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Harm," Mac said, pushing the button for the elevator, "please do me a favor today."

"What?" he asked, looking at her curiously as they waited for the elevator to descend from the third floor.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Mac said, her hand on his arm. "I know you're concerned. But please don't hover over me today. After everything that happened here, today is going to be hard enough without – I don't know – feeling self-conscious because you're constantly watching me."

"Sarah," Harm said softly, "I just ..."

"I know. You worry about me and about the babies. But I'm fine. We all are. And remember, I'm a Marine. I can handle this," she said firmly, giving him a brilliant smile.

Harm wasn't convinced, but in the hallway waiting for the elevator was hardly the best place for this discussion. He promised himself that he was going to keep a close eye on her. She might insist she was fine, but he still remembered the first day he had walked back into JAG after the shooting, how everything had come flooding back to him full force as he had walked through the hallway where the shooting had occurred.

Mac quickly pulled her hand away from his arm and Harm turned to find the Admiral walking towards them. "Good morning, Sir," Harm said, nodding in the Admiral's direction.

"Good morning, Commander, Colonel," AJ replied. "I trust your families got off okay."

"Mom called and left a message that she and Frank had gotten back to California okay," Mac said as the elevator opened in front of them and they all stepped on. "Clay called this morning to inform us that Uncle Matt is back at Leavenworth."

"That's good to hear," AJ said. "And how are you doing, Mac?"

Mac noted his use of her first name. Obviously, Harm wasn't the only one who was going to be worrying and watching over her. "I'm good, Sir," she replied. "I'm glad to be back to work."

"Well, good, Colonel," AJ said as the doors opened to the hallway in front of JAG Ops. "I've got a couple of cases for you already. It's good to have you back."

"Thank you, Sir," Mac said. "I look forward to jumping back into working on cases, especially once my travel restriction is lifted."

"One thing at a time," Harm said, his eyes on Mac as they walked through the hallway. But Mac kept her eyes focused on the bullpen in front of them, never looking at the spot where she had been injured. The three entered the bullpen as Gunny called out, "Attention on deck."

"As you were," AJ said as he turned for his office while Mac headed for her with Harm right behind her.

"Are you okay?" Harm asked as he followed Mac into her office. She set her briefcase on her desk and stored her garrison cap in a desk drawer before sitting down and booting her computer. Harm stood in the doorway, watching her.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Just happy to be back at work. Really. You should go to your office and read your mail before the staff meeting this morning."

"Trying to get rid of me, Marine?" he said in a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't need the distraction," she teased back. "I have a lot of catching up to do since a certain person wouldn't let me keep up with my cases while I was out on leave."

"Because you needed to concentrate on getting better," Harm pointed out.

"And now I need to concentrate on getting caught up," she retorted with a smile. "And I'm sure you have some work waiting for you since you took Friday afternoon off."

"Excuse me, Sir, Ma'am," Gunny said from the doorway.

"Yes, Gunny?" Mac asked.

"Welcome back, Ma'am," Gunny said. "Commander, you have a telephone call from Congresswoman Latham."

"Thank you, Gunny. It's good to be back. Why don't you just transfer the Commander's call in here?" Mac suggested.

"Yes, Ma'am," Gunny replied, heading back to his desk. A moment later, the phone on Mac's desk rang and Harm picked it up.

"Good morning, Bobbi," Harm said into the phone while Mac busied herself reading her e-mail. "What can I do for you? ... Hold on a minute and I'll ask."

Covering the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand, he said to Mac, "Bobbi wants to have dinner one night this week with her counterpart from the Senate Armed Services Committee so that I can meet him. She wants to know what night this week is good for us."

"Us, as in you and me?" Mac asked, looking up from her monitor.

"That's what you get for wanting to marry the military liaison on the Hill," he teased. "You have to go to boring dinners with politicians."

"Sounds like fun," Mac muttered sarcastically. At the look Harm shot her, she shrugged, "I should probably take a few evenings to go over some case files, so later in the week would be better."

Removing his hand, Harm said into the phone, "How does Friday night sound? Mac will probably be taking some work home at least the next few nights while she gets caught up ... Fine, Le Tours at nineteen hundred hours. We'll see you there ... Yes, I'll tell her you said so. Goodbye, Bobbi."

He hung up the phone and turned back to Mac. "Bobbie said she's glad that you're feeling better and back at work," he told her. "And, as I'm sure you heard, we have a dinner date Friday night at Le Tours."

"What's the dress code?" Mac asked.

"Dress whites for me, a nice dress for you," he said.

Mac smiled at the thought of Harm in his dress whites, then frowned as she remembered that most of her really nice clothes no longer fit. "I suppose that means I have to go shopping for a new dress," Mac complained.

"I could help you," Harm said suggestively.

"I'm sure you could," she replied with a laugh. "But I'd probably get more accomplished if I went with Harriet or Sydney."

"But it wouldn't be as much fun," he joked.

"Red light, Commander ... at least here," Mac said softly. "We can continue this conversation tonight at home later."

"I look forward to it," Harm said, a grin on his face.

"Sir, Ma'am, sorry to interrupt," Bud said, entering Mac's office. "Colonel, here's the case file on the Lawson court-martial. The trial starts next week. Since the case was continued anyway, I suggested to the Admiral that maybe you should still be lead counsel on the case."

Mac took the file gratefully, thankful to have an actual case, an actual court-martial to work on. She had been a bit worried, before AJ had assured her otherwise earlier, that she might be assigned administrative duties upon her return. "Thank you, Bud," she said. "Why don't we get together after the staff meeting to go over the case?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Bud replied. "Welcome back, Colonel."

"Thank you, Bud," she said. Bud departed, leaving Harm and Mac alone again.

"If I were to receive a nickel every time someone says 'Welcome back' or 'It's good to have you back' today," Mac joked as she turned back to her e-mail, "I wouldn't have to work." She studied the list of messages that had just finished downloading and smiled. "Over two hundred messages while I was gone and it looks like about half of them are from the same person. Maybe I need to have a talk with someone about the proper use of the government e-mail system."

"Hey, most of those are legitimate, work-related messages," Harm defended himself. "Keeping you up to date on pending cases, things like that."

With a chuckle, Mac read a few of the messages. He was right, many of them did pertain to cases. "I guess that's one way to get caught up on cases," she murmured as she click on another message. She read the message she had just opened then looked up at Harm. "Most, but not all," she pointed out.

Harm leaned over the desk to get a better view of the monitor and read the first few lines of the message. "Singer was in my office at the time, going on about this case she wanted to help me on," he explained. "I needed the distraction to keep from falling asleep listening to her drone on."

"You know, if you were talking about anyone else," she said, "I'd say that was mean. But since it's Singer, I'll let it slide. It doesn't surprise me she would try to weasel her way into some extra cases while I was gone."

"Actually, it was just the one case she wanted in on," Harm said, shrugging. "She's been acting a little strange for a while now. Now that I think about it, her change in attitude goes back to the shooting."

Mac looked at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was serious or not. Finally, she asked, stunned, "Are you trying to tell me that Lieutenant Singer, who would cross the Admiral if she thought it would help her get ahead, was actually concerned about someone besides herself?"

"Well," he pointed out, "she was kind of nice, almost pleasant even, at the cookout yesterday. And she did hang around the hospital with the rest of the staff that first day."

"I still don't trust her as far as I could throw her," she said.

"I don't either," Harm said firmly. As little too firmly, as it turned out, which resulted in Mac giving him a strange look. He never had told her about his suspicions that Loren had put that mishap report in her car a few months ago. Fortunately, Loren had, with the exception of that little rumor a while back, pretty much behaved herself since. Maybe she had taken his promise to heart. "Look, let's not think about that, okay? You need to concentrate on getting caught up."

"And you need to get to your office and get to work," she reminded him.

"Fine," he said, "I'm going. Lunch later?"

"Of course," she replied. "See you at the meeting."

After Harm left her office, Mac turned back to her computer and started working her way through her mail. Not even a minute had passed when the phone rang. Picking the phone up, she answered, "Colonel Mackenzie."

"Hello, Sarah."

Mac leaned back in her chair, stunned. Of all the people, this was the last person she expected to call her. She hadn't heard from him since ...

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Hello, Mic. What can I do for you?"

"I had called a few weeks ago," Mic explained, "and one of the Petty Officers said that you were in hospital after being shot. I thought I'd call and see how you were doing. I checked and found out you were coming back to work today. I debated about calling you earlier, but didn't think it was a good idea to call you at home or the hospital. Never know who might answer there."

"Thank you," Mac said, "and I'm fine. Just glad to be back at work." She was careful not to say too much. She had no way of knowing, unless he brought it up, just how much he knew about her current situation.

"And Harm?" he asked hesitantly.

"Harm is fine," she replied. She didn't need to tell Mic how worried Harm had been about her, about the wedding coming about, about the babies. She couldn't love him the way he had wanted her to love him, but she didn't want to hurt him any more than necessary either.

"That's good to hear," he said. Both of them were silent for a moment before Mic continued quietly, "Are you happy, Sarah?"

"Yes, I am," she said without hesitation. She knew that probably wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but she didn't want to give Mic any reason to think that he might still have a chance.

"Good," he said dully. "I'm glad for you. Are you planning to get married anytime soon, start a family?"

Mac did hesitate this time. Was he just fishing for information or was he simply confirming something he had already heard? She wasn't sure she wanted to get into this with him.

"Sorry," Mic said. "I shouldn't ... well, when I called before, the Petty Officer mentioned something about a baby."

"I'm due towards the end of February," she admitted softly. There was another pause on the other end of the line. Mac felt bad and briefly wondered who the nameless Petty Officer was, then decided that it didn't matter. If Mic had called, saying he used to work at JAG, whoever he had talked to may not have known who he was and may have just assumed that he would be interested that a former coworker, who just happened to be pregnant, had been shot.

"Well ... I guess congratulations are in order," he said sadly. He had been hoping that his information about the baby was wrong, that maybe there was still a chance, however remote, that things would not work out between her and Rabb. "I suppose there's a wedding in your future, too."

Does he really want to discuss this, she wondered. But maybe it was better that he knew that there was no reason for him to hold out hope. "The last day of September," she said. She looked up to find Harm standing in her doorway again.

"It's time for the staff meeting," he said, noting the sad expression on her face.

"Is that Harm I hear?" Mic asked. "I'd like to speak to him a moment."

Her eyes still on Harm, she replied, "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"No fighting," he promised. "At least on my part. I would just like to say something to him."

Mac sighed. "I'll ask if he wants to, but that's all I'll do," she insisted. Before he could respond, she put her hand over the mouthpiece and motioned Harm into the office. "Um, Mic is on the phone and would like to speak to you."

Now her expression makes sense, he thought. Softly, he asked, "Has he upset you?"

"Not in the way you think," she responded, just as softly. "I'll explain later. You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."

After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "No, I'll talk to him."

Hesitantly, she held out the phone to Harm, who took it only after closing the office door. "Hello, Mic," he said politely as Mac continued to watch him. He was determined to make this conversation as civil as possible.

Harm said nothing, just listened to Mic on the other end. After what seemed like forever to Mac, he said, "Yes, she is. No, I understand. Yes, I'll tell her. Goodbye, Mic." He handed the phone back to Mac, who hung it up then waited for him to speak.

"He just wanted me to confirm that you really are alright," Harm explained, "and to tell me to take care of you." At her disbelieving expression, he added, "Really, that's all he said, aside from congratulating us on the wedding and the pregnancy. It was very civil, considering everything."

"You'd tell me if there was something else?" she asked as she got up and moved towards the door.

"Yes, I would," he promised as he opened the door and they both headed for the staff meeting.

-----

1730 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"You wanted to see me, Admiral?" Harm asked as he entered AJ's office and came attention in front of the desk.

"As you were and take a seat," AJ insisted as he signed his name to some papers in front of him. Once finished, he looked up at Harm. "How is Mac doing being back at work?"

"She seems to be doing fine so far," Harm said. "She's been busy this morning trying to get caught up."

"Good," AJ said. "Now, I called you in here because we have a situation that requires your assistance. At NAS Ft. Worth, an Air Force F-18 and a Navy F-14 collided at the airfield, one taking off, one landing. Everyone ejected safely, fortunately. Since you used to be a pilot yourself, the local JAG office has requested your assistance with the investigation. You and Lieutenant Roberts will be on a flight in the morning out of Andrews."

AJ held up his hand before Harm could protest. "I know the timing on this is not the greatest," he admitted. "I admit that I had second thoughts about sending you, but you are the best person for this investigation and it can't wait. I hope it will make you feel better to know that Mac has a lot of friends here who will be there for her if she needs anything."

"I don't know if 'feel better' is the right phrase," Harm said, "but I suppose I don't have a choice."

"No," AJ said, "such is life in the military. We don't get to choose our assignments and with Mac doing better and back at work, I don't see a compelling reason to turn down the request. I hope you understand, Commander."

"I do, Sir," Harm replied. He didn't like it, but he understood.

"Good," AJ said. "Dismissed."

Harm stood and come to attention. "Aye, aye, Sir." He turned and left the office, heading straight for Mac's, where he found her pouring over a case file.

"Got a minute?" he asked, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Mac smiled at him as she looked up from the file. "Sure," she said, rubbing her neck. "I could use the break. I've been going over files most of the day."

"When was the last time you got up and walked around?" Harm asked, concerned. "That chair is probably getting a little uncomfortable."

Mac smiled. "It could definitely use some more padding," she replied. "I wonder what the Admiral would say if I put in a request for a new chair. Anyway, to answer your question, not since lunch."

"Come on, then," Harm said. "Let's take a break and walk outside. That will fulfill your requirement to get up and walk around every so often and I need to talk to you about something."

Mac grabbed her cap from the desk drawer and followed Harm to his office, where he quickly grabbed his cover. They were silent as they descended in the elevator and walked outside. As they began walking around the ground, Mac finally broke the silence and said, "Something's bothering you."

"The Admiral called me into his office just now," he said. "There was a crash at NAS Ft. Worth involving an Air Force jet and a Navy jet. The local JAG office has requested that I head up the investigation, due to my aviation experience."

"When do you leave?" Mac asked.

"Bud and I leave tomorrow morning," he replied. "I don't know how long it will take. Could take a while depending on how well we get along with the Air Force investigators."

"You don't really want to go," she said.

"That obvious, huh?"

"Probably not to the average person," she said, "but I know you too well."

"I suppose you do," he said with a sigh. "You're right, I'm not happy about going away. Not now, anyway. You just did go back to work today."

"Harm, I'm fine," she replied. "If I wasn't fine, the doctor never would have cleared me to come back to work. Anyway, I'm sure that while you're gone more than one person will be checking up on me, just to make sure that I am okay."

Harm laughed a little. "The Admiral did make the point that you have a lot of friends who would be there if you need anything," he told her.

"Probably beginning with the Admiral himself and Sydney," she added. "They've both been really supportive since – well, since we told them about the pregnancy. Besides, I am a Marine and am perfectly capable of taking care of myself for however long you are gone. Doesn't mean I won't miss you, though."

"I'll miss you, too," he said. "I'll try to come home as soon as possible."

"You said you leave tomorrow, right?" she asked, smiling suggestively. When he nodded, she added, "Then I'll have to make sure to give you a proper send off tonight."

Harm grinned at her. "Just what do you have in mind?" he asked.

-----

2120 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"I'm glad to put today behind me," Mac said as Harm pulled into their driveway. "You know how hard it is to get back into working when you've been pretty much lying around for two weeks?"

"How are you feeling?" Harm asked.

"Good, but a little tired," she admitted. "I spent most of the day hunched over case files, couldn't sit in my chair for more than an hour at a time without my back hurting and I had a somewhat uncomfortable phone conversation with the man who moved halfway around the world because he wanted me to marry him."

"Sound like what you need is a good massage," Harm suggested as he waited for the garage door to open. "I ... Sarah, do you know who's car that is?"

Mac looked in the direction he was looking and saw an unfamiliar mid-sized sedan in the driveway in front of the other side of the garage. "I didn't even notice that car there," she said. "I don't recognize it."

There was no one in the car, so Mac looked around and caught sight of two figures on the front porch. "There are two people on the porch," she began, then her voice rose with excitement as one of the figures looked towards them and Mac recognized the people waiting for them. "Harm, it's Chloe and her grandmother," she exclaimed as she climbed out of the car and walked as fast as she could towards the porch while Chloe jumped off the porch and ran into her arms.

"Mac, it's so good to see you," Chloe exclaimed, her words running together. "You've gotten so big. Gram and I went to Hawaii with Dad and we thought we'd stop by for a quick visit on our way back to Vermont. Hi, Harm. Have you asked Mac to marry you yet?" She called out to Harm as he got out of the car and headed in their direction.

"Chloe!" her grandmother exclaimed as Harm and Mac laughed.

"It's okay, Martha," Mac said through her laughter. She showed her left hand to Chloe. "He finally asked me last Monday."

"Finally?" Harm teased as Chloe released Mac and hugged him. "It wasn't my fault it took me some time to be able to get away to see your uncle."

"Martha, this is my fiancée, Harm Rabb," Mac introduced them. "Harm, this is Chloe's grandmother, Martha Anderson."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Anderson," Harm said, holding out his hand to her.

"Please call me Martha," she insisted as she shook his hand. "Chloe has told me so much about you. She really enjoyed spending that month with you two earlier this summer."

"Call me, Harm," he said. "Chloe talks a lot about you, too. It's a pleasure to finally talk to you in person."

Chloe smiled and started on Mac again. "Remember my dream I told you about almost a year ago? I said you guys were gonna get married. You've gotta make me your flower girl now so the dream really does come true," she insisted excitedly.

Mac laughed as she remembered the phone call during which Chloe had told her about that particular dream. "Well, who else would I have?" she teased.

"Yes!" Chloe cried as she hugged Mac again.

"Why don't we take this inside?" Harm suggested. "We have some more news to share. How long before you have to head home?"

"We don't want to impose," Martha said.

Harm and Mac exchanged a look and silently agreed. They would have other times when they could be alone together. "Don't worry about it," Harm said. "I have to fly to Texas tomorrow for an investigation, so Sarah could use the company."

"Harm, I don't need a babysitter," Mac whispered to him as they all entered the house.

"I wasn't thinking that at all," he whispered back. "Okay, maybe I was, just a little. But mostly, I was thinking that you would like to spend a few days with your little sister."

"Sorry," she replied. Louder, she said, "Why don't you make yourselves comfortable. Would either of you like anything?"

"We're fine," Martha insisted after sharing a look with her granddaughter. "I'm sure you two would like to go change out of those uniforms."

"If you're sure," Mac said. At Martha's nod, Mac continued, "Then we'll be back in a few minutes."

As they changed out of their uniforms and into casual clothes in their bedroom a few moments later, Mac said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Harm countered. "Insisting that Chloe and Martha stay? Sarah, they're important to you, so that makes them important to me. We can be alone together another time."

"You're so good to me," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I love you, that's why," he said. "Why don't we go back and join our guests? I'm sure they will be thrilled to hear about the twins."

"We might want to wear ear plugs," Mac joked. "I can just imagine Chloe's reaction. We also should probably tell them about the shooting since we weren't able to get in touch with them while they were in Hawaii."

A few moments later, Harm and Mac were back downstairs. "Before we share our good news, we have some not-so-good news to share," Mac began as she tried to get comfortable on the couch. Harm handed her a throw pillow which she placed behind her back. "Two weeks ago, there was a shooting at JAG and I was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the chest."

"Dear God," Martha exclaimed. "Are you okay, Sarah? What about the baby?"

"Well, it was pretty serious," Mac said gently, "but it definitely could have been a lot worse. But we're fine. In a few days, my OB wants to do an amnio, just to rule out any complications due to the medications or anesthesia from the surgery. But everything does look good. Today was my first day back at work."

"The Admiral tried to contact you," Harm continued, "but I didn't know you had gone to Hawaii."

"It was a last minute trip," Chloe explained, tears in her eyes. "Dad got some leave unexpectedly and suggested the trip. I wish I could have been here."

"It's okay," Mac reassured her. "Everything did turn out fine in the end and we even found something unexpected out while I was in the hospital." She took a breath and smiled at Chloe. "I had an ultrasound while I was in the hospital. There isn't just a baby, there are two. We're going to have twins."

"YES!" Chloe screamed and all the adults resisted the urge to cover their ears. "So, do you know what you're going to have yet? Have you picked out any names?"

"Not yet," Mac replied, "but if we want to know, the amnio will tell us. And no names yet. We hadn't even thought about a name for a single baby and now we have to pick out two."

"Congratulations," Martha said, patting Mac's hand. "That's very good news, considering everything that's happened. So when are you planning on getting married?"

"30 September," Harm replied, "at the chapel at the Naval Academy."

"So, what day is that?" Chloe asked, then thought a moment. "It's a Saturday, right? I assume there'll be a rehearsal the day before. So Gram, I guess I'll just have to miss school, huh?"

"Chloe Madison," Martha began, but Chloe quickly interrupted.

"Come on, Gram," she insisted. "This is Harm and Mac. As flower girl, I have to be involved in the rehearsal."

"We'll see," Martha said, shaking her head. She knew she'd eventually agree to missing one day of school, but she didn't want her granddaughter to think she was giving in too easily.

-----

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

0105 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Do you get the feeling that Chloe and Martha were claiming to be tired more because they wanted to give us a chance to be alone together and less because they flew in from Hawaii today?" Mac called out to Harm as she turned on the water to fill the tub she was planning to soak in.

"Subtlety never has been Chloe's strong suit," he reminded her. "You know, if we hadn't already set a date for the wedding, she'd probably have sat down with a calendar to find the best date for us to get married."

"True," Mac said, laughing as she stripped off her blouse and tossed it in the general direction of the clothes hamper. She missed the hamper and hit Harm, who had just walked into the bathroom, square in the chest.

"Trying to tell me something, Marine?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Not really," she replied as she stripped off the rest of her clothes while Harm watched her. "Although you're more than welcome to join me. There's still room for two in this tub. At least, I think there is."

"Are you calling yourself fat?" he teased as she tossed her shorts at him.

"No, I don't think I'm fat," she admitted. "At least, not most of the time. Every so often I'll catch myself thinking it, especially when I really want to wear something that doesn't fit anymore." She was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "Do you think I'm fat?"

"Sarah, have I ever given you any reason to believe that I think that?" he asked.

"That didn't answer the question," she said as she tossed the rest of her clothes in his direction. Harm tossed the clothes in the hamper and quickly stripped off his own clothes and stepped into the tub. Mac joined him, settling between his legs as he pulled her back against his chest.

"Do you need to hear me say it?" he asked. "Then I will. I think pregnancy looks very beautiful on you. Call it a male ego thing if you'd like, but I think there is something very appealing about watching you grow large carrying my children. Anyway, I didn't fall in love with you because you had – what did Webb say? – a twenty-four inch waist."

Mac smiled at that. "You know, I never did kill Webb for announcing my measurements in front of you and the Admiral," she joked. "Seriously, let's just forget about this conversation and chalk it up to hormones or something."

"Is that a smile I see on your face?" he teased as he ran his hands over her belly.

"You're getting really good at that," she commented, "saying just the right thing to make me feel better."

"Good," he replied. "Because happy mom means happy babies. I'm sure I read that somewhere. How does your back feel? You were commenting on that earlier."

"The pillow at my back while sitting on the couch helped," she said. "My shoulders are a little stiff though from hunching over my desk most of the day."

"Lean forward," Harm instructed her as he placed his hands on her shoulders and began to kneed them. "Better?"

"Much," Mac replied. His fingers hit a particularly sore spot. "Oh, right there. That feels so good."

"You are a little tense," he said. "Maybe we should make this a nightly routine."

"A nightly massage?" she said with a grin. "Do that and I'll love you forever. But I get to give you massages in return."

"I can live with that," he replied as his hands moved over her upper arms.

-----

After their bath, they lay together in bed, Mac stretched out on her side beside him, her arm thrown over his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. "I wish you didn't have to leave in the morning," she said quietly.

"I wish I didn't either," he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him, his other hand resting on her belly. "Especially since you have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday."

"I'll call you," she promised, "let you know how it went."

"As soon as you get out of the doctor's office," he said. "I don't care if I'm in the middle of a meeting with the base commander, you call me. I'm sorry I can't be there with you this time."

"I was thinking of calling Sydney tomorrow," she revealed. "If she's free, I thought about asking her to accompany me to my appointment. I feel better having someone there with me, especially since I'm having the amnio done. I think if I have another woman - another mother - with me, I won't worry so much about it."

"I feel better if you have someone with you, too," he replied. "I just wish it was going to be me."

"I do, too," she agreed, her eyes drifting closed. "Sometimes I wish we had jobs where we didn't have to worry about going out of town at a moment's notice."

-----

TUESDAY, 22 AUGUST  
1320 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac and Harriet walked into the bullpen over an hour late, having dropped Harm and Bud off at Andrews Air Force Base before heading to work. Harriet sat down at her desk and Mac headed for her office until Gunny intercepted her.

"Ma'am, the Admiral asked for you to see him as soon as you arrived," Gunny told her as he took her briefcase and cap from her. "I'll put these in your office, Colonel."

"Thank you, Gunny," she replied as she turned for the Admiral's office. She stopped at Tiner's desk in the outer office.

Tiner didn't wait for her to speak before calling the Admiral, "Colonel Mackenzie is here, Admiral."

"Send her in, Tiner," AJ replied.

Mac entered the office to find four other officers, three Navy and one Marine, with the Admiral. She came to attention in front of his desk and said, "Reporting as ordered, Sir."

"Take a seat, Colonel," AJ told her then began the introductions. "Everyone, this is my Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. Colonel, this is Commander Allison Krennick, the XO of our JAG office at Pearl; Lieutenant Meg Austin, also from the Pearl office; Lieutenant Commander Kaitlyn Pike, who just transferred out of our office in Okinawa; and Major Jonathan Williams, from the office in San Diego. Colonel, they are going to be handling the prosecution in the Johns and Hodge cases."

"Yes, Sir," Mac replied neutrally. She didn't know any of the lawyers, but she had definitely heard of three of them. Suddenly, a part of her was very glad that Harm had just left town, especially in the case of Krennick. She had a feeling deep down that there was going to be trouble once they saw each other.

"Commander Krennick," AJ said, "anything your team needs, please see the Colonel. She'll make sure you're taken care of. Unfortunately, we are tight on office space, so I'm going to give you conference room two as a temporary office. That will also give you a place to conduct any witness interviews you deem necessary."

"I'd like to spend this morning go over the case files," Allison said, "then start interviewing people this afternoon, as least in the Johns case, since most of the witnesses are here. Colonel, since we don't know anyone here, if someone could draw up an interview schedule, we'd appreciate it."

"Of course," Mac replied. "I'll have Gunny work on that this morning. I should tell you that one of your witnesses has just left for Texas this morning on an investigation and it is unknown when he will return."

"And who would that be, Colonel?" Allison asked.

"Commander Rabb," Mac said.

Allison frowned. "I assume the Commander can be informed that he will need to make himself available upon his return," she said tightly. "I'm sure everyone involved will appreciate these cases going to trial as swiftly as possible."

I'm sure you'd like Harm to make himself available, Mac thought. To Allison, she said, as calmly as possible, "I'm sure he will call in once he arrives in Texas. I'll make sure he's informed."

Kate looked up from a file she was looking over and said, "I see that there are some civilians who are listed as witnesses in the Hodge case. Will there be any problem getting them in here for interviews?"

"Sydney Walden, no problem," Mac said, smiling, "but Clayton Webb might be. He has a job that takes him out of town a lot. I can try to call him and see if he's available."

"I see another witness listed here," Kate continued, "he's military, but there's no duty station listed. Colonel Matthew O'Hara."

AJ jumped in before Mac could reply. "Colonel O'Hara is retired and returned to Kansas two days ago," he said. "I can assure you that his testimony will essentially be the same as mine, Webb's or Rabb's in the Hodge case. His police statement should be in the file."

Kate got the message. "Given that, we may not even need to call Colonel O'Hara as a witness," she said quickly. "I assume he can be contacted if that changes for any reason."

"Yes, he can," AJ replied. "Is there anything else?"

"I don't believe so at the moment, Admiral," Allison replied. "If you have nothing further, then we'll get to work."

"Dismissed," AJ said as everyone rose and came to attention. "Colonel, hang back a moment before you show our guests to the conference room."

After everyone else had left the office, Mac said, "Thank you, Sir."

"Don't worry about it, Colonel," AJ replied. "I assumed discussing your uncle's situation with complete strangers would be a little uncomfortable. I take it from what you said earlier that Rabb is planning to call in once he arrives?"

"Yes, Sir," she said. "I'll let him know about the interview request."

"Good," AJ said. "I'm sure he'll appreciate the heads up about Krennick."

"Sir?" Mac was confused and a bit wary. Surely the Admiral didn't know about Krennick's unwanted advances towards Harm. The Admiral was hardly one to tolerate sexual harassment in his command, even if no complaint was made.

"Let's just say they tended to clash," AJ told her, "especially on the last case they worked together before Allison transferred out of JAG headquarters."

Mac thought for a moment. She wasn't sure, but she believed that last case had been the investigation into Diane's death. Saying that they had clashed on that case was a major understatement. "I'm sure he will do everything possible to cooperate with the case despite that," she said. "Commander Krennick was correct when she said everyone would appreciate these cases being resolved as quickly as possible."

"Agreed. Dismissed," AJ said.

Mac came to attention for a moment before leaving the office to find everyone waiting for her. "Is there anything else you need before I show you to the conference room?" she asked.

"We could use some supplies," Allison said, "pens, legal pads and coffee."

"Tiner can get you any supplies you need," Mac replied with a nod towards the yeoman. "As for coffee, we'll pass the kitchen on the way to the conference room. There are extra mugs in the cabinets and you can help yourselves to the coffee. We only ask that if you empty the pot, you put a new one on."

After getting everyone settled in the conference room and promising to return with an interview schedule, Mac breathed a sigh of relief as she headed back to her office. Meg Austin and Kate Pike seemed like nice enough people and Harm had spoken highly of them, but Mac would just as soon stay as far away from Krennick as possible. She sure didn't need the stress.

-----

1530 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

After spending two hours pouring over the case files, Allison had reluctantly suggested they break for lunch. While everyone headed off in different directions, she headed for the file room, determined to confirm the thought nagging at the back of her mind ever since she had first seen Colonel Mackenzie.

As she entered the room, a Petty Officer walked up to her and asked, "May I help you, Commander?"

"Yes," Allison replied. "I'm looking for a case from May 1996. It would have been opened around the third week of the month."

"This way, Ma'am," the Petty Officer said as she led Allison to the correct aisle. "Name of the subject?"

"It was an investigation into the murder of Lieutenant Diane Schonke of the _USS Sea Hawk_," Allison replied as the Petty Officer looked at the boxes holding the files from May 1996. Pulling a box off the shelf, she searched through it and pulled out a file, handing it to Allison.

"Here you go, Ma'am," she said. "Would you like to check the file out or just look at it here?"

"I'll just look at it here," Allison said as she headed towards one of the desks at the center of the room. Just as she was about to sit down, she saw Meg and Kate enter the file room. Turning quickly before they saw her, she headed for a desk towards the back of the room where she could have some privacy. Sitting down, she opened the file and noticed right on top an addendum to the file, added in April 1998. "So the XO killed Lieutenant Schonke," she murmured as she read the report detailing the discovery of the murderer nearly two years after the fact.

Coming to the end of the addendum, she noted the names at the bottom. "The addendum was signed off on by Commander Rabb, Major Mackenzie and Lieutenant Roberts," she said to herself. So Mackenzie is familiar with the case, she thought as she flipped through the rest of the file, looking for the crime scene photos. Finding them at the bottom of the file, she stared for a long moment at the top photo, taken of Diane before she had been removed from her car.

She was right. The uniforms might be different, but the face was the same. These women didn't just bear a resemblance to each other. Lieutenant Diane Schonke and Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie were dead ringers for each other.

-----

Mac rubbed her temples, trying to fight off the headache she felt coming on. Try not to think about it, she told herself. Try not to think about the cases, Krennick or the fact that Harm is gone. "Easier said than done," she muttered as her phone rang. Picking it up, she said shortly, "Colonel Mackenzie."

"Sounds like someone could use some cheering up," Harm said. "Bad morning?"

Mac took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said, "but your call is the bright spot of the morning."

"That bad?" he replied. "What's going on?"

"Hold on a minute," she told him, setting the phone down and getting up to close her office door. She didn't want anyone to overhear this conversation, even by accident.

Picking up the phone again as she sat back down, she said, "Sorry. I've got something to tell you and didn't want anyone to overhear. The lawyers who are going to handle the Johns and Hodge prosecutions arrived today. Commander Allison Krennick is heading the team."

There was silence on the other end of the line as Harm digested the information. "Suddenly, I'm very glad to be in Texas," he said.

"You know what," she said, "me, too. Krennick has already told me to make sure you are informed that you need to make yourself available for an interview upon your return."

"Sounds like her," he replied. "You aren't having problems with her, are you?"

"I've barely spoken to her except in the Admiral's office," she told him. "He even suggested to me privately that I warn you she was here. I thought for a moment he knew about – well, you know – until he commented that you two had clashed on the last case you worked on together before she transferred out. Harm, I hate to ask, but would that have been the investigation into Diane's murder?"

"Yes, it would," he answered. "Both Krennick and Meg transferred out right after that, Krennick to Hawaii and Meg to Great Lakes."

"Now they're both in Hawaii," Mac said. "Meg's here, too, along with Kate Pike and a Major Williams. I guess two of them are handling each case."

"Interesting," he said, laughing. "Sounds like the ghosts of partners past."

"Meg and Kate seemed nice enough," she commented. "Again, I didn't talk to them much, but from what you've told me about them, I think the cases are in good hands."

"Tell Meg and Kate that I said hello," he said.

"Will do. Do you have any idea when you will be home?" she asked.

"Fortunately, the Air Force investigative team seems willing to cooperate with the Navy, so I'm hoping we can get this wrapped up quickly," he replied. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"I look forward to it," she said. "I love you."

"I love you," he echoed. "And don't worry about Krennick. I'm not."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Because I know that if Krennick tries anything, I'll have my feisty Marine fiancée to protect me," he teased, causing Mac to smile at the thought. "I'm sure she is more than capable of handling a pushy Navy Commander."

"Well, dealing with my Navy Commander fiancé has given me plenty of practice," she teased back.

Harm laughed as he said, "Glad to have cheered you up, even if you just insulted me. I'll talk to you tonight. Bye, Sarah."

"Bye, Harm," she said. After hearing the click indicating he had hung up, she hung up the phone, still smiling.

Hearing a knock at her door, she called out, "Enter." She was surprised when Meg and Kate stepped into her office. "What can I do for you?"

"We went down to the file room just now to check out the case file on Chief Hodge's previous conviction, Colonel," Meg said. "A Petty Officer down there said that Commander Rabb had checked out the file a couple of weeks ago and hadn't returned it. Since he's not here, we thought we'd ask you if someone could let us into his office to get the file."

"Come on," Mac said, getting out of her chair and heading for the door. "I'll get the file for you. I have a key for his office."

As she led them to Harm's office, she said, "I just got off the phone with Harm, by the way. He said to say 'hello' to both of you." Meg and Kate both smiled.

"If he calls again," Kate said, "you'll tell him we said 'hello' back?"

"Yes," Mac replied as she unlocked Harm's office and flipped on the light. She searched through the stack of files on top of his desk and found the Hodge file. Pulling it out of the stack, she held it out to them and Kate took it.

"Thank you, Colonel," Kate said, flipping through the file. "I see you worked the investigation with Ha – Commander Rabb. If you'd got time later, we'd like to talk to you about this first case, get a feel for what kind of man he is."

"I should have some time this afternoon," Mac replied. "My case load is a little light right now, since I just returned to work yesterday. I'm getting ready to go to lunch now, so why don't we meet in about an hour?"

"Thank you, Ma'am," Kate said as they left Harm's office and Mac locked it back up. "Why don't we meet in your office, if you don't mind? Krennick and Williams are starting their interviews in the Johns case at thirteen hundred, so the conference room is out."

"That will be fine," Mac said. "I'll see you back here in about an hour."

As Kate and Meg headed out of the bullpen, Kate asked, "Are you okay, Meg? You've been quiet today."

"Sorry," Meg said, "it's just that Colonel Mackenzie reminds me ... never mind, it's not important. Why don't we get some lunch ourselves?"

-----

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST  
1410 ZULU  
BETHESDA NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER  
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

"Sorry, I'm running behind this morning," Dr. Calder apologized as she entered the exam room. "I just finished up an emergency C-section about half an hour ago. How are you feeling today, Sarah?"

"Fine. I just came from seeing Dr. Newman and he said that I'm healing nicely," she replied. "Dr. Calder, you remember my friend Dr. Sydney Walden, don't you? She agreed to accompany me today since Harm had to go TAD."

"It's good to see you again, Dr. Walden," Calder replied as she gathered everything she would need for the amniocentesis. "Do you have any questions before we begin, Sarah?"

"No, I don't think so," Mac answered. "I'm just ready to get this over with."

"Feeling a little nervous?" Calder asked. "I can understand that. I won't lie to you. There are risks, but they're really very minimal."

Mac smiled weakly. "I know," she said. "That's what Sydney said. I guess it's just a little fear of the unknown."

"Well, we're going to do an ultrasound first," Calder told her. "Just to make sure everything is going well in there and to check the position of the babies and amniotic sacs. I'll mark the spots where we're going insert the needle. Since these are twins, we'll do two insertions, one for each sac. I'll numb your abdomen with a topical anesthetic and using the ultrasound as a guide, I'll insert the needle and withdraw some amniotic fluid. That's all there is to it and we should have the results in about a week."

"It will be okay," Sydney assured Mac, squeezing her hand.

"Thank you for being here with me," she said gratefully.

"One last thing, Sarah," Calder said. "Do you want to know the sex of the babies? If you'd like, we can include that with the amnio results. Unlike an ultrasound, the results from the amnio are one hundred percent accurate since we are actually doing a genetic test and not just depending on seeing body parts on the screen. It's up to you. Some parents still like to be surprised."

"Harm and I have discussed it," Mac replied. "We'd like to know. We want to prepare as much as possible and it'd be nice to know if we need to buy for boys, girls or both."

"Okay," Calder said. "You'll know for sure when you get the amnio results, but we can also try to determine the sex today from the ultrasound if the babies are cooperating by being in a good position." There was a knock at the door and a woman stuck her head in.

"Are you ready, Dr. Calder?" the woman asked.

"Sarah, Dr. Walden, this is one of our nurses, Lieutenant Jamie Smith," Calder said. "She's a certified ultrasound technician and will be doing the ultrasound while I do the actual amniocentesis."

Mac took a few deep breaths while the ultrasound machine was set up and the gel was spread across her tummy. She shivered at the feel of the cool gel. Closing her eyes, she said a silent prayer that everything would be okay.

"Everything looks good," Smith said as she began the ultrasound and the images of the twins appeared on the monitor.

Mac opened her eyes and looked at the screen, where she could see her babies, tiny arms and legs moving. "They're bigger than the last time," she said in awe.

The nurse took some quick measurements and reported, "Twin A is about two and a half inches long and twin B is about two and three quarters. I estimate weight at about seventy grams each."

"Still so tiny," Mac said, her eyes fixed on the screen. "What's this about twin A and B?"

"We label them like that so that we can tell them apart when talking about them," Calder told her. "Baby A is always the one closest to the cervix and we go up from there. The last letter, if there are more than two, is the one closest to the top of the uterus."

"Can you tell the gender from the ultrasound?" Mac asked.

"Yes and no," Smith said with a smile. "Twin A is being cooperative and is facing us. Twin B appears to be a little shy. He or she is facing the other direction. Do you want to know now, or wait until the results of the amnio come in when you can find out both?"

"I don't know," Mac began, then shrugged. "What the heck. Go ahead and tell me."

"Congratulations, Mom," the nurse said. "Twin A is a girl."

"A daughter," Mac whispered, tears in her eyes. As she remembered a certain conversation between her and Harm over a year ago, she knew how she was going to tell him the news. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Already she could imagine a beautiful little girl with her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

"Congratulations, Mac," Sydney said, squeezing Mac's hand again.

"That looks like a good place," Calder said, looking at the screen. She pressed something which looked to Mac like a straw to Mac's belly. At Mac's confused look, she explained, "We use this to make the mark where we're going to insert the needle. We don't use ink since it would wash off when we swab your abdomen." Studying the screen again for a moment, she made another mark.

The nurse set the ultrasound wand aside and began rubbing Mac's belly with anesthetic then with alcohol to clean it while Calder prepared the syringes. "Okay, Sarah, I want you to try to relax as much as possible and this will all be over in a few minutes," Calder told her. The nurse held the ultrasound wand over Mac's belly again and Calder, carefully watching the screen, inserted the needle and withdrew the amniotic fluid from the first sac. Setting the first syringe aside, she picked up the second syringe and repeated the procedure for the second sac.

When it was finished, Mac released a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding. That hadn't been as bad as she had imagined and with the anesthetic, she'd barely felt a thing.

"Just lie here for a few minutes and relax," Calder said. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Dr. Calder and the nurse both left the room, leaving Mac and Sydney alone.

"How do you feel?" Sydney asked.

"Numb," Mac said, then laughed. "Both literally and figuratively. I don't think it's sunk in yet. Harm and I are going to have a daughter."

"I know what you mean," Sydney said. "Of course, back in my day we had to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex. I remember the first time I held my son in my arms, I was in a bit of a state of shock. I couldn't believe that precious little boy was mine."

"Where is your son now?" Mac asked, curious.

"In medical school at Maryland," Sydney said. "I don't get to see him all that much these days, but I remember how crazy a time medical school is. But he's a good boy and I think he'll make a wonderful doctor."

"Sydney, are you doing anything after we leave here?" Mac asked. "I want to pick something up for Harm, something to let him know about the baby and then I thought about getting some lunch. I could really use the company."

"I'd be happy to join you," Sydney said. "Wednesdays are normally my day for doing consults with other doctors and my schedule today is very light. I don't have any appointments until late this afternoon."

"Thank you," Mac said. "I really could use someone to talk to."

"Is there something wrong?" Sydney asked.

"Not really wrong," she replied. "There's just something going on and I think I could use an objective ear."

"Something to do with work?"

"Yes and no," Mac said. "It's hard to explain without going into detail. I'll tell you over lunch, okay?"

Dr. Calder returned before Sydney could reply. "How are you feeling, Sarah?"

"Okay, but still a little numb," she replied.

"That's normal and should disappear in a few hours," the doctor told her. "You may experience some mild cramping as a side effect. If it is too severe, please let me know. I don't want you to do any lifting for a few days. Other than that, you should be okay. You can go ahead and sit up now, just do it slowly in case you get dizzy. If you're feeling okay, then you can go ahead and get dressed and you'll be free to go. Someone will call you when the amnio results are in."

"Thank you, Dr. Calder," Mac said as she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position with Sydney's help. "Other than getting the results of the test, when should I return for my next appointment?"

"Well, unless there were specific problems," Calder said, "we'd normally stick with monthly appointments at this stage of pregnancy. But with everything that's happened, I'd like to go ahead and see you again in another two weeks."

"But there's no specific problem," Mac asked for reassurance, "it's just because of the shooting, right?"

"That's right," Calder assured her. "If I didn't know better, I'd never know you've been through a horrible ordeal a few weeks ago. Your pregnancy is progressing normally and you're showing none of the usual side effects of a multiple pregnancy with the exception of the additional weight gain. With a little luck, the rest of your pregnancy will go as smoothly."

-----

1625 ZULU  
TYSON'S CORNER CENTER  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

At the mall, Mac had quickly found the Baby Gap store and she and Sydney had spent some time oohing and aahing over all the baby clothes before Mac decided on a pair of pink baby booties to surprise Harm with when he returned from Texas. Now she just had to keep herself from spilling the beans over the phone before then.

After a quick run into Hallmark to pick up a card to go with the booties, Mac and Sydney headed for the Café Corridor and decided on burgers and fries at McDonalds. Finding a table for them, Mac sank gratefully into a chair, ready to get off her feet, while Sydney placed their order. Mac took out the card she had purchased and wrote a quick message inside and was about to seal the card in its envelope when Sydney joined her.

"So, what did you say in the card to break the news?" Sydney asked as she set their tray of food down and sat down herself.

After pausing a moment, Mac took the card out of the envelope and handed it to Sydney. Sydney looked at it and read the single line, puzzled, "'What if she has your looks and my brain?' I take it that has some special meaning?"

Mac smiled as Sydney handed the card back to her and she put it back in the envelope. "Yes," she said. "It's something I said during a conversation that Harm and I once had." She paused, then decided to tell Sydney the whole story. It would probably be good for a laugh. "The day AJ Roberts was born, Harm and I were there in the Admiral's office when he was delivered."

"What a minute," Sydney exclaimed. "Harriet gave birth in AJ's office? He never told me that."

Mac laughed, "It's a long story. Harm had called for an ambulance, but it took away the wrong pregnant woman and ... Anyway, after it was all over and another ambulance arrived to take Harriet and little AJ to the hospital, Harm and I were talking on the front steps at JAG. I guess we were both excited about what we had just witnessed and I was feeling a little blue as well. Chloe had just been visiting and had left that day. So, Harm and I made this deal."

"What kind of deal?" Sydney asked.

"We agreed that if neither of us was in a relationship in five years," she explained, "that we would 'go halves on a kid'. Those were Harm's words, by the way. He's the one who suggested it."

"Okay, wait a minute," Sydney said, stunned. "You and Harm, feeling euphoric because you had just watched your godson be born, made an agreement to have a baby together in five years?"

"Basically, yes," she replied. "I was not sure about it at first and Harm said that with my looks and his brains, he'd be perfect. I countered ..."

Sydney interrupted, understanding dawning, "'What if she has your looks and my brains?'"

"Exactly," Mac said. "We shook on it and that was it, until we really did get involved in a relationship together and decided that we didn't like the five year timetable anymore."

Sydney laughed, "Only you and Harm would claim to be nothing more than friends then make a deal to have a baby together. There's another one for the 'what idiots Harm and Mac have been' file."

"No," Mac said, shaking her head. "You're still not stuck on that idea of telling all these stories at our engagement party?"

"You'll have to wait until the engagement party and find out, won't you?" Sydney teased, smiling. Actually, she'd had a better idea than just telling stories. She'd already talked to AJ about making a videotape of all their friends talking about Harm and Mac. He'd agreed that it was a wonderful idea and had gotten Gunny and Tiner to start going around and interviewing everyone when Harm and Mac weren't around. She wanted the whole thing to be a surprise.

"It's good to laugh," Mac said, playing with a french fry. "There hasn't been much to laugh about this week."

"Something tells me this isn't just about Harm going out of town," Sydney said. "Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah," Mac replied. "I'm okay with Harm going out of town – that's a fact of our jobs. But something happened at work yesterday. No, it's more a fact of someone showing up at work and it's bothering me a little bit. Harm tried to reassure me that everything was going to be fine, but I'm not so sure and I don't really need the stress right now."

Sydney put her hand on Mac's arm. "What don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

Mac took a deep breath and began, "I don't know if the Admiral told you, but the lawyers who are going to be prosecuting Sergeant Johns and Chief Hodge arrived yesterday."

"AJ mentioned that," Sydney said, "as well as the fact that two of them used to work at headquarters. He said one of them was Harm's old partner."

"Yes," she confirmed, "Lieutenant Meg Austin. I came on board when she transferred to Great Lakes."

"This is something more than just Harm's old partner being back?" Sydney asked. "You don't think there was something between them back then, do you?"

"No," Mac answered quickly, "Harm told me there wasn't. They were just friends. Anyway, Meg seems like a nice enough woman and she's not the problem anyway. It's the other person who used to be at JAG, Commander Allison Krennick. She was the Admiral's chief of staff when she was there. And no, there wasn't anything between her and Harm, either. And that's the problem."

"I don't understand," Sydney said. "If there was nothing between this Commander Krennick and Harm, I would think that would be a good thing."

"See, back then, Krennick was Harm's superior officer," Mac explained. "He had just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander when he first met her and she was, as she is now, a full Commander. He was defending a case she was prosecuting. A few weeks later, she went to see Harm at home when she got transferred to Washington and she flat out told Harm that she wanted him."

"If she was his superior, wouldn't that be considered sexual harassment?"

"Yes, although Harm never said anything to the Admiral," Mac replied. "I don't know if it was because he was a little bit flattered by the attention, even if he didn't return it, or if it was because he thought he could handle Krennick. Anyway, Krennick kept throwing herself at Harm and he kept turning her down. As Bud once put it, he 'threw her more red lights than the Beltway at rush hour'."

"So you think Krennick might still be after Harm?" Sydney asked.

"Well, Krennick went after Harm because she saw him as a threat to what she wanted," Mac revealed. "He was the golden boy at JAG and Krennick thought if they were in a relationship, she could control him to get what she wanted. On their last case together, Krennick tried to bring him up on charges for striking another officer. She told him that she didn't want his mistakes to bring her down in the process." Mac stopped and laughed. "It's funny. She was willing to risk her career over a sexual harassment charge, yet she was ready to ruin his career to protect hers over this assault incident."

"This Krennick sounds like some piece of work," Sydney commented.

"Anyway, some other things happened and Krennick never filed the complaint. She transferred to Hawaii as XO of the JAG office there right after that," Mac continued. "I'm just worried that there is just too much unresolved tension there and it could blow up. Plus ... " she trailed off, uncertain about whether to continue.

"Plus what?" Sydney asked gently.

Mac shrugged. "There's more. This last case they were on concerned the murder of an Academy classmate of Harm's. She – well, she and Harm were supposed to get together, decide where they wanted to go with their relationship, when she was murdered."

"He was in love with her?"

"Yes," Mac answered. "NCIS thought he was too personally involved and wanted Harm pulled off the case. Krennick is the one who suggested to the Admiral that she be put in charge of the JAG investigation instead. She came in and started exerting her authority, excluding Harm from key aspects of the investigation. So he decided to confront a prime suspect on his own, which is where the assault charge comes into it. The other officer refused to press charges, saying that he could understand why Harm came after him. He was in love with Diane, too. But Krennick heard about it and decided to report it herself."

"Do you think Krennick was jealous because of Harm's feelings for Diane?" Sydney asked.

"I don't know," Mac admitted. "It's possible, although Krennick disagreed when Harm confronted her about it. But if she was jealous of Diane, then ..."

"She might be jealous of you?" Sydney finished. "Has she said anything to indicate that?"

"I don't think she knows yet about me and Harm," she answered. "At least, I didn't tell her and she hasn't mentioned it. But ... it's hard to explain. I don't know if I should even be telling you this. I mean, if people don't know the whole story, they might get the wrong impression about me and Harm. But he assured me that he never held it against me and I believe him. As far as I know, Harm and Bud are the only ones who know."

"Know what?"

Mac took a deep breath before continuing. "That even though there are several years' difference in our ages," she said slowly, "Diane and I look enough alike that we could have been twins."

Sydney didn't react, simply saying, "Please continue."

"I know that Harm didn't fall in love with me because I look like Diane," she explained. "According to him, we just looked alike. Our personalities were different. But someone who doesn't know us, but knows about my resemblance to Diane, might try to make something different of the situation."

"And Krennick knows that you look like Diane," Sydney stated.

"I would assume so," Mac answered. "Since she was involved in the investigation, I'm sure she saw the crime scene photos. Meg would probably know, too."

"Because she was Harm's partner at the time."

"Exactly," she replied. "Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt Harm's love. We've been through too much for me to ever doubt that. But I don't need Krennick rocking the boat either. I've been lucky so far that everything has gone well with my pregnancy in spite of everything that's happened. I don't want anything to jeopardize that."

"Have you talked to Harm about this?" Sydney asked.

"Briefly," she said. "I told him that she was here and he is concerned, but he won't let himself worry about it. He even said that he was confident his 'feisty Marine fiancée' could protect him if Krennick tried anything."

"Well, the way I see it," Sydney said, "you need to do two things. First, talk to Harm about it. Let him know how worried about this situation you are. Second, trust in yours and Harm's love. I've rarely seen two people more in love than the two of you. Hold on to that and I think you can get through anything."

"Thank you," Mac said, smiling. "I've been telling myself that, but it helps to hear it from someone outside this whole situation."

"The 'objective ear' you mentioned earlier," Sydney stated. "Glad to be of help, Mac, and please know that if you ever need to talk again that I'm here."

"Thank you, again," Mac replied. "Just one more thing ... I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the Admiral. He doesn't know about any of this and I'm not sure that Krennick will try anything. I don't see the need to say anything to him until she does."

Sydney noted that Mac had said 'until she does'. She sounded pretty sure that Krennick would try something. Sydney hoped not. Mac and Harm didn't deserve to have this happen on top of everything else they had already been through. She thought about saying something to AJ anyway, but decided against it. Maybe Mac's feelings were wrong and Krennick wouldn't try anything. But Sydney knew deep down that a woman's intuition was rarely wrong.

-----

SATURDAY, 26 AUGUST  
1335 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Mac slowly made her way downstairs and found Harm in the kitchen, standing at the stove making eggs. "Mmmm, that smells good," she said, standing behind him and wrapping her arms around him, pressing herself against his back.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, covering one of her hands with his. "Sleep well?"

"Best night's sleep I've had in days," she replied, "especially since I had you back with me. I'll feel even better once you feed me."

Harm laughed. "My Marine, always thinking with your stomach," he teased. "Go ahead and sit down at the table and breakfast will be ready in a minute. I didn't think about asking last night, but when did Chloe and Martha leave?"

"Thursday," Mac replied. "Martha said they needed to get back so they could make sure Chloe has everything she needs to begin school on Monday."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to spend more time with them," Harm said as he fixed two plates for them. "I thought I told you to sit down?" he teased.

Mac smiled. This was the perfect time to spring her surprise. "Let me get something first," she said. She went to the living room and picked up the package that had been sitting there since Wednesday. She and Harm had been so busy with each other last night that he had never noticed the package and she had let it slip from her mind. She took it back to the kitchen and found Harm seated at the table, waiting for her.

Smiling, she sat down and set the gift-wrapped box in the middle of the table. "I wanted to give this to you when you returned," she explained, "but I kind of got distracted last night when you surprised me by coming home a day early, so ... here you go."

Looking at her, he tore the wrapping off the box and lifted the lid, finding a card and tissue paper. Rummaging through the paper, he pulled out the pair of pink baby booties that she had bought on Wednesday. He looked at them, mystified, then back at her. "It's a little late to tell me that you're pregnant, isn't it?"

"Oh, you," she said, smacking his arm lightly. He had obviously missed the significance of the color. "Why don't you just read the card?"

He opened the envelope and pulled the card out. He opened it up and read it. His eyes moved over the single line inside again before he looked back at her. "Is this. . . ?"

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "I don't know about both babies," she explained. "One of them had his or her back turned towards us during the ultrasound. But it did show that one of the babies is a girl. Harm, we're going to have a daughter."

"A daughter," Harm repeated in shock. "We're going to have a daughter."

Mac nodded as she moved into his lap, straddling him, her hands on either side of his face as she pressed her forehead to his. "Yes, we're going to have a daughter," she repeated.

"Do you know how happy you've made me?" he whispered in awe, running a hand over her belly.

"I love you and our babies so much," she said.

"Me, too," he replied. "So when do we find out about the other baby?"

"Well, since he or she was a little shy during the ultrasound," she explained, "we're going to have to wait a few more days until we get the results of the amniocentesis."

Harm leaned in to kiss her, their lips nearly touching when the phone rang. Mac pulled away and sighed. "Let me get that," she said, climbing off his lap. "Then we can get back to what we were doing." She picked up the phone and answered it, "Hello, Colonel Mackenzie."

She listened for a moment, then said, "Hold on a minute." She held the phone out to Harm. "It's for you, a Commander Jackson from NAS Ft. Worth," she said.

Harm took the phone from her. "Yes, Commander, what can I do for you?" he asked. He listened for a moment, then said, "No, that's okay. The report is at headquarters so it will be at least half an hour before I can fax it to you."

He hung up the phone and handed it back to Mac with a look of regret. "I'm sorry, but I need to run into the office," he told her. "Someone at the JAG office at Ft. Worth spilled coffee and ruined their copy of the accident report. Jackson called headquarters and got a hold of Tiner, who connect him to me here. I need to run into the office and fax them the report. I won't be gone too long."

"Why don't I go with you?" Mac suggested, but Harm shook his head.

"No, you stay here and finished eating," he insisted. "You need the food. I won't be gone that long and I'll be back in plenty of time for us to go to the softball game this afternoon."

"Okay," Mac sighed. "Just hurry back."

-----

1415 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm walked into JAG headquarters whistling 'Anchors Aweigh', on cloud nine after Mac's news. Not watching where he was going, he nearly ran over Tiner as the latter was exiting the elevator.

"Sorry, Tiner," he apologized. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"Not a problem, Sir," Jason replied. "Sorry to disturb you and the Colonel at home, but Commander Jackson said it was important that he get that report today."

"No problem," Harm assured him. "I'll just get it faxed to Texas and get back home. We'll see you at the game later, right?"

"Yes, Sir," Jason said. "See you later, Commander."

Harm rode the elevator up to the second floor and headed for his office, grabbing the folder he had dropped off before heading home the night before. A smile on his face, he quickly faxed the report to Ft. Worth and put the folder back on his desk, where he intended to leave it until he presented it to the Admiral on Monday. He froze when he heard a voice from the doorway.

"Well, it's about time you got back, Harm," Allison said, leaning against the open door, dressed in her white uniform despite it being Saturday. "I was beginning to think you were staying away just to avoid me."

"Now why would I do that, Commander?" he asked, smiling tightly. "If you'll excuse me, I was just on my way back out."

Allison ignored his insistence that he was leaving and asked, "Why so formal, Harm? We're the same rank now. I think you can get away with calling me Allison."

"I guess old habits die hard," he explained. "When you were here before, you were my superior officer."

"But I'm not anymore," she replied, moving closer to him. "I'm just a temporary visitor here, unless you'd like me to stick around. You know, we could have had something before. Maybe we still could."

Where Harm might have brushed her off with a flip comment in the past, now he was just angry. After all these years, she still hadn't gotten the message. "I don't think so," he said bluntly. "I am involved with someone."

"Please," Allison said, rolling her eyes. "Tell me it's not that Maria whatever-her-name person."

"Not that my personal life is any of your business," Harm replied, a hint of anger in his voice, "but no."

"And what can this mysterious girlfriend of yours give you that I can't?" she asked.

"She isn't just my girlfriend," Harm told her. "Five weeks from today, she will become my wife."

"Harmon Rabb, getting married?" Allison retorted in disbelief. "I'll believe that one when I see it."

"Believe whatever you want," Harm said, grabbing his keys off his desk. "I really don't care. Goodbye, Commander."

"I guess I should be thankful it isn't that Marine Colonel you're involved with," Allison shot back as Harm tried to walk around her to get out of the office. He turned and looked back at her stunned as she continued, "You think I haven't noticed how much she resembles your dead Academy sweetheart? Given that, I probably should be surprised that you haven't been involved with her."

"You are way out of line, Commander," Harm managed to say through clenched teeth, "and you have no idea what you are talking about." Furious now, he stormed out of the office and headed for the stairs, leaving Allison standing in his office.

"Damn you, Harmon Rabb," she said to the empty office after he had stormed off. She was about to leave, then reconsidered. "Something I said struck a nerve," she said aloud. "Maybe there once was something between him and that Marine Colonel." She decided to look around his office to see if she could find out anything about this fiancée he had mentioned.

Moving around the office, she studied everything. Some of the items she recognized as items he'd had in his office back when she had been at JAG. On top of a filing cabinet was a model of a yellow biplane, a replica of one that she knew he owned. Hanging on the wall next to the cabinet was his law school diploma and a picture of graduation day at Annapolis with two older people she assumed where his parents. On another wall was a picture of him in a flight uniform with his squadron which she assumed was taken sometime before his accident had grounded him.

Next she came to several pictures grouped together. The first was of Harm in his dress whites with Mac, another woman in a wedding dress and a man she recognized as Ensign Roberts from the _Sea Hawk_, a Lieutenant j.g. in the photo and newly married. Another photo was of the same four people, this time with Roberts wearing the stripes of a full Lieutenant and JAG insignia and holding a baby. The last picture was of the five of them, the baby older and Roberts' wife obviously pregnant again, at a park together.

Sitting down in Harm's chair, she found several more pictures on the desk. One was of Harm in his mess dress with Mac by his side in a dark blue dress. Since she had found out Harm had been promoted to full Commander almost a year ago, Allison figured that the picture had been taken some time ago since he still wore the stripes of a Lieutenant Commander. Another photo was of Harm, Mac, the couple from the graduation photo, an older woman and a young girl, possibly taken at the Fourth of July since all were waving small American flags.

Her eyes fell on the final photo on the desk and her hands tightened into fists. This photo was again of Harm and Mac, Harm in his dress whites and Mac in a dark blue pants suit and obviously pregnant. Harm was a full Commander in the photo and Mac was currently pregnant, so it had to be a very recent photo. Harm had an arm draped over Mac's shoulders and Allison caught the sparkle of a diamond on Mac's left hand.

Damn, she thought. He was involved with her. No wonder he'd gotten so defensive when she'd mentioned the resemblance. Four years ago, Harm had been pining over his lost love when he could have had Allison and now he was involved with a woman who looked exactly like Diane. Allison wanted to do something, needed to do something, but she wasn't sure what. For one of the few times in her life, Allison Krennick didn't know what to do.

-----

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

1505 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Mac was sitting on the couch folding laundry when she heard the garage door open. A moment later, she heard the door leading to the house open and she called out, "Harm, I was just thinking. Do you want to tell everyone about the baby today or what until we know the gender ..." she trailed off when Harm entered the living room and she saw the look on his face. "Harm, what happened?" she asked, concerned.

Harm threw himself down on the couch next to her and leaned back, closing his eyes. "That obvious, huh?" he asked wearily.

"To me, yes," Mac replied, clasping one of his hands in hers. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I ran into Krennick at JAG," he replied. "It wasn't pleasant, to say the least."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Want to? No," he said. He'd like to forget Krennick even existed. "But you should know. First, she suggested that I had been trying to avoid her by being in Texas."

"Rather arrogant of her, isn't it?" Mac commented. "The Admiral sent you to Texas before we even knew she was coming."

"I know," Harm said. "Maybe she thought I was dragging out the investigation there so that I could stay away from her as long as possible."

Mac snorted. "Yeah, you stayed away trying to avoid her, but yet you came home a day early," she said in disbelief. "So what happened next?"

"She made a point of mentioning that we are now the same rate," he told her. "I called her 'Commander' and she suggested that it was okay for me to call her 'Allison' since we now hold the same rate. Then she suggested that I might want her to stick around past her temporary assignment, that maybe there could be something between us now."

"And, of course, she didn't hear you when you said 'no'," Mac guessed.

"That was always her problem," he said. "She only heard me when it was convenient for her to do so, like when she wanted to 'disassociate' herself from me during Diane's murder investigation. Anyway, I told her that I was involved with someone."

"What did she say to that?" she asked.

"First, she said she hoped it wasn't the woman I'd been involved with when I first met her. When I told her no and that my personal life was none of her business, she pressed further, wondering what my girlfriend could give me that she couldn't."

"Oh, I don't know," Mac said sarcastically, "maybe a lifetime of love and a couple of children for a start." She looked up at Harm and caught a hint of a smile on his face. "At least I got you to smile a little," she added.

"After my conversation with her, it's hard to find something to smile about," Harm pointed out. "I answered her question by telling her we are getting married in five weeks. She said something to the effect that she'd believe that when she saw it."

"Well, don't expect me to invite her to the wedding just so she can see it for herself," Mac said.

"Maybe when hell freezes over," he said, grinning now. "I told her I didn't care what she believed and I tried to leave."

"Tried?" Mac questioned. "She stopped you."

"This is the point where the conversation got ugly," he told her.

"'Got ugly'?" she countered. "So what was it up to this point?"

Harm shrugged. "Okay, got really ugly," he amended. He was silent for a moment, pondering how to reveal what had happened.

"So what happened next?" she prodded him.

"She said that she supposed she should be glad I wasn't involved with you," he answered. "Then she threw in a comment about your resemblance to Diane. I got very angry, told her she was out of line and left."

"So she doesn't know that I'm your fiancée?"

"I was so mad at that point that I didn't feel the need to enlighten her," he replied. "I guess I figured that if I said anything more, it would get even uglier."

"In other words," she said, "you thought she might suggest that you were involved with me because of my resemblance to Diane."

"Yes," he admitted. After another moment of silence, he began, "Do you ever wonder ... No, forget what I was about to ask. I know better."

"Yes, you do," she told him, pulling away from him so that she could look him in the eye. "Harm, I know you're upset about Krennick, but don't let her get to you like that. We made our peace with Diane's ghost a long time ago. Don't let her cause you to doubt yourself or us."

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Like I said, I do know better. And you're right in that I shouldn't let her get to me. We need to concentrate on our wedding and our babies. Nothing else should matter right now."

"Of course, that's easier said than done," Mac pointed out, "or we wouldn't even have to have this conversation. It's been bothering me too. I've almost felt this week like I know there's a bomb and I'm just waiting for it to go off. I even had a long talk with Sydney on Wednesday after my appointment. I thought it might help to have an objective listener."

"So what did she have to say?" he asked.

"Just that I should talk to you about what I was feeling and to trust in our love," she told him. "Nothing I didn't already know, but I think it helped a little to have someone else say it."

"True, but I don't know that will be enough against Krennick," he said. "Not that I think she can drive a wedge between us, but she can create a lot of stress that we don't need right now."

"What do we do?" Mac mused. "We ignore her and it's like giving her license to continue pursuing you and causing problems. We back her into a corner by going to the Admiral and we risk her lashing out."

"You know, we're unfortunately not going to solve the problem right here, right now," Harm said. "Why don't we make a deal to forget about it for the rest of the weekend and if anything happens Monday at work, we deal with it then."

Sounds like a plan," Mac agreed. "On another topic, we both need some cheering up and I've got just the perfect thing. Hold on a minute." She got up and left the living room, returning a moment later with an envelope which she handed to Harm.

"I know it's not quite as big as telling you that we're going to have at least one daughter," she said as he opened the envelope and pulled out the invitation that was inside. The invitation was ivory in color with a rose design embossed in pearl at the upper left and lower right corners on the front. Inside on the left side were the words to the song "The Rose" which they had danced to at the Surface Warfare Ball. On the right –

Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Catherine Mackenzie   
United States Marine Corps   
and   
Commander Harmon David Rabb, Jr.   
United States Navy   
request the honor of your presence   
at their wedding   
Saturday, the thirtieth of September   
at ten o'clock in the morning   
Cathedral of the Navy   
United States Naval Academy   
Annapolis, Maryland   
Full dress uniform invited

"These turned out very nice," he said, pulling her into his arms. "I didn't think they'd be done this soon."

"Well, I'm sure that you remember how Sydney, your mom and I had picked out the design and decided on the wording the day after we first called Annapolis," she said. "Once we went there and confirmed 30 September as the date and set the time, your mom called the printer and offered them a bonus if they had the invitations ready in a week. I picked them up Thursday when I got off work. I had dinner with Sydney and the Admiral that night and we worked on addressing them. With the exception of those that we planned to hand deliver to our friends in the DC area, the invitations were all mailed out yesterday. I figured that we could hand out the invitations to the people at JAG together at the game this afternoon."

"That will work," he said. "So what else happened on the wedding front while I was gone?"

"We're going to discuss it with everyone at the picnic after the game," she told him, "but the run down is that the designer your mom found FedEx'd some sketches for the dresses for the bridal party and Chloe. I'm pretty sure which ones I want, but I was going to show the sketches to Sydney, Harriet, Jackie and Carolyn to get their input. I've already shown Chloe the sketch of her dress and she loved it. Gunny has a line on the roses and Singer contacted the caterer. That reminds me, I've got some suggested menus from the caterer. We need to decide on the menu for the reception within the next few days. Let me see, what else? The organist from the chapel faxed over suggestions for music during the ceremony itself. Tiner has arranged for all the non-flower decorations for the reception, Carolyn found a baker and got a price list and design suggestions for the cake, and Alan found a DJ for the reception. The DJ would like us to provide a list of the songs we definitely want played at the reception – the first dance, dances with the family, as soon as possible. He said he'd provide a list of other songs to play so we could make suggestions or veto a selection. I think that's it so far."

"Sounds like everything is coming together rather well," he commented.

"Let's see if you still think that in a few weeks when we're all running around going crazy, convinced that nothing is going to come together in time," she teased.

"Oh, ye of little faith," he teased in return. "With so many people helping out, how can it not come together?"

-----

1650 ZULU  
JAG vs. MILITARY POLICE SOFTBALL GAME  
WASHINGTON, DC

Harriet shifted her son into a more comfortable position on her hip as she walked towards the bleachers while Bud unloaded his equipment and their cooler from the minivan. She caught sight of Meg, Kate and Jon Williams and waved in greeting. "Nice to see you could make the game," she said. "I'm sure you could use the break from the Johns and Hodge cases. Did Commander Krennick come with you?"

"Hello ... Lieutenant Sims, isn't it?" Meg said. "The Commander is going over some files at JAG, but she gave the rest of us the day off. I love coming to these games. I used to play for the JAG team when I was stationed here."

"Please just call me Harriet," she replied, holding on to AJ just a little tighter as he squirmed in her arms, trying to get down. "AJ, you can get down when we get to the bleachers," she told her son.

"What a cute little boy," Kate said. "How old is he?"

"Fifteen months," Harriet replied with a smile on her face. She never passed up the opportunity to talk about her son. "His name is AJ, but you'll often hear him referred to as little AJ to distinguish him from big AJ over there." She nodded towards the Admiral, who was on the field throwing warmup pitches to Tiner. She noticed her husband walking towards them and called to him, "Bud, I want you to meet the lawyers I was telling you about."

Bud joined them and immediately recognized two of them. "Lieutenants Pike and Austin, it's good to see both of you again," he greeted them.

"Hello, Bud," Meg said. "It's good to see you again. I hear you're a lawyer now. I'm glad to hear JAG is working out for you."

"Thanks to your recommendation," Bud reminded her. "It has been great. I graduated third in my class at law school and I've been fortunate to have learned so much from Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie."

"It's a pleasure, Bud," Kate said. "I'm a Lieutenant Commander now. What about you? I'm sure you've moved past Ensign."

"Full Lieutenant now," he replied. "I got promoted around the same time I graduated law school. Where are you two working these days?"

"I'm out in Hawaii at the Pearl office," Meg told him. "Kate has just left Okinawa and will be transferred to Pensacola when we wrap up these cases. By the way, Bud, this is Major Jon Williams from the San Diego office. Jon, this is Lieutenant Bud Roberts, one of the lawyers at JAG headquarters. Jon and Commander Krennick are handling the Johns case while Kate and I are prosecuting Chief Hodge."

"Commander Krennick is here, too?" Bud asked, astonished and a little worried. He was one of the few who knew of the history between Harm and Allison.

"Bud, I didn't know you knew Commander Krennick, too," Harriet said. "When did you meet her?"

"She was part of a JAG team that came to the _Sea Hawk_ when one of our officers was murdered the night we docked in Norfolk," he told his wife. "That's where I met Meg, too. She and Commander Rabb were the other members of the investigative team. I met Commander Pike during an earlier JAG investigation aboard the _Sea Hawk_."

"I didn't know that or I would have mentioned to you they were here," Harriet said.

AJ began squirming in Harriet's arms again, reaching out for something behind his mother. She turned and saw Harm and Mac walking towards them.

"Unca Harm, Aun Mac," AJ squealed. Reaching the group, Mac held out her arms and Harriet handed AJ to her. After her hug, he quickly demanded Harm's attention. "Unca Harm, plane," he pleaded, holding his arms out to Harm. Harm set down the equipment and cooler he was carrying, taking AJ from Mac and lifting him above his head while the other adults watched in amusement.

"Bud, Harriet, you'd better watch those two together," Mac teased. "Harm might be a corrupting influence on AJ."

"Very funny, Marine," Harm shot back.

"Well, Colonel, it's good practice," Bud joked. "In a few months, he can provide a corrupting influence for your children." Everyone laughed at the look of mock horror that crossed Mac's face as she shook her head.

Handing AJ back to Harriet, he hugged Meg then Kate. "Meg, Kate, it's good to see both of you again," he told them. "I'd heard you two were in town."

"It's good to see you again, too, Harm," Meg said warmly. "You heard that Commander Krennick came with us?"

Harm nodded and something in his expression told Meg that Krennick was a topic that was best not pursued, so she quickly changed the subject, "How was your investigation in Texas?"

"Pretty cut and dried," he said. "There was a mechanical problem with the navigation equipment in the Tomcat which caused it to come in off course and the pilots in both planes compounded the problem by panicking. Both were relatively inexperienced."

"Sorry, Harm, I almost forgot," Meg said. "Commander Harmon Rabb, this is Major Jon Williams. He's also part of the prosecution team."

Harm held out his hand and Jon shook it. "Welcome to Washington, Jon," Harm greeted him.

"Thank you, Commander," Jon replied. "I've heard a lot about you and I am glad to finally meet you. Commander Krennick has spoken about you a lot."

Harriet noted to pained expression that briefly flashed in Mac's eyes at the second mention of Krennick's name and decided to see if her friend needed someone to talk to. Obviously, there was some kind of problem there.

Harm ignored the mention of Krennick and suggested with a glance at Mac and Harriet, "Why don't we go sit down? I'm sure Harriet and Sarah both need to get off their feet."

"Amen to that," Mac said to Harriet. "I'm beginning to move into the stage where my feet hurt all the time and my ankles are swollen."

"I wish I could tell you that would pass," Harriet replied, "but you can look forward to more of the same for the rest of the pregnancy."

"Wonderful," Mac muttered. "Also I discovered today the joy of trying to tie ones shoes while pregnant."

Harriet laughed, "I know what you mean, but that's what we have the guys for."

Mac laughed in return. "I discovered that one today, too," she said. "What would we do without them?"

"Well, we wouldn't be in the position we are now without them," Harriet joked.

"This is true," Mac replied while everyone laughed.

"Sounds like my wife when she's pregnant," Jon commented.

"How many children do you have, Major Williams?" Harriet asked.

"Please, call me Jon when I'm out of uniform and we have three," he replied. "Our youngest is just four months old."

"It must be hard being away with such a young baby at home," Harriet commented.

"Yes, but you can't exactly tell the brass to stuff it if they want you to go somewhere," Jon said. "I bought a digital camera recently and I insisted that my wife e-mail me pictures of the baby everyday while I'm gone so at least I will recognize him when I go home."

"That's a great idea," Harriet enthused. "I wish we'd thought of it when AJ was born. Bud went out on a lot of investigations the summer after AJ was born."

"Poor Bud, missed so much because we were short handed at JAG," Mac teased, earning her a stern look from Harm. "You know, Harriet, a digital camera might have come in handy when we were scanning those pictures to e-mail to the _Patrick Henry_. Then again, if AJ's godfather had stayed ..."

Harm interrupted, "Ha, ha, very funny, Marine."

"I thought so," she shot back, smiling.

"Hey, are you people going to stand there and talk all day," AJ called out, "or are some of you planning to play ball? Talk about the wedding after the game."

"Were we talking about the wedding?" Mac asked. "I don't think I've even heard the word since we got here." Harm, Bud and Harriet all shook their heads while Meg, Kate and Jon looked slightly puzzled.

"Regardless, Rabb, Roberts, get out here," AJ said.

Harm and Bud set everything except their bats and gloves on the bleachers, then headed towards the field at a trot while everyone else joined Sydney and Jackie on the bleachers.

"So, who's getting married?" Jon asked.

"I am," Mac replied, careful not to say more. After what had happened with Krennick, she was a little unsure how Meg and Kate would react to the news that it was Harm she was marrying. "Five weeks from today. Since I was in the hospital, everyone has been chipping in on the planning."

"If you don't mind my asking," Meg said, "how is the chain of command thing being handled? I assume one of you is going to have to transfer out of JAG." At Mac's puzzled look, she continued, "Dr. Walden mentioned it when we interviewed her for the Hodge case. She was concerned about how quickly the case was going to be wrapped up, said you didn't need the stress with the wedding coming up and everything."

Mac looked at Sydney. "You worry too much," she said. "I'm handling everything just fine."

"You can understand my concern," Sydney replied, "especially after our talk on Wednesday."

"That situation is different," Mac said. "And anyway, I did take your advice and talk to him about it. We're taking a wait and see approach. Maybe we'll be lucky and nothing will happen."

Mac looked back at Meg and replied to her earlier question, "I don't mind your asking. It's not like it's a secret or anything. Actually, Harm is taking a job as a military liaison on the Hill. He'll be kind of 'on loan' to JAG when he's not busy there."

"Sounds like a good arrangement," Kate commented. "Congratulations on the wedding and on the babies. Someone mentioned that you're having twins."

"Thank you," Mac said, relieved that Kate and Meg both seemed to be taking the news well. Now she only had Krennick to worry about. "And yes, we're having twins in February. Anyway, I didn't know you two were going to be at the game today or I would have brought your invitations to the wedding with me. Harm figured that he'd talk to you both on Monday about coming."

"Watch Harm get married? I wouldn't miss it," Meg said enthusiastically. "You said the wedding's five weeks from today, right? Where is it going to be?"

"That's right," Mac confirmed, "and it's going to be at the chapel at Annapolis."

"We'll probably still be around then," Kate said, smiling. "Meg's right, we wouldn't miss seeing Harm get married for the world."

"Speaking of the wedding," Harriet asked, "did you bring the sketches?"

"Yes, I did," Mac replied, pulling the FedEx envelope out of her bag. She handed it to Harriet, who pulled out the sketches while Sydney and Jackie looked over her shoulder.

"I love this one for the wedding dress," Sydney said, indicating the top sketch. "I don't know if I'd go with white, though. With your coloring, I think you'd look better in ivory."

"I agree," Jackie concurred, glancing at the other sketches. "I like this wedding dress best."

"Glad to hear that," Mac said, "since that's the one I like best, too. And I was planning to stay away from white and go with ivory anyway since this is my second marriage."

"I don't think anyone pays attention anymore to the idea that only a first time bride can wear white," Harried pointed out. "But I do agree with Sydney; I think ivory would look better with your coloring. What about for the bridesmaids?"

Mac pulled a sketch out of the stack and place it on top. "I like this one best," she said. "It's simple and can easily be adjusted for Harriet."

She pulled out another sketch. "The flower girl's dress is a smaller version of the bridesmaids' dress, but I was planning to go with ivory for that, same as my dress," she said. She pulled a smaller envelope out of her bag and pulled out two fabric samples. "I was thinking of these colors for the bridesmaids, the darker one for Harriet and the lighter one for everyone else," she continued. "I didn't want to go too light on the bridesmaids dresses since it will technically be a fall wedding."

"I think these are perfect," Jackie said. "I think this color will look good on all of us. When's the first fitting?"

"If everyone's available, then we can all meet at my house next Saturday morning," Mac said. All three women quickly assured Mac that they were available. "Now I just need to see if Carolyn is available," she added, "and get Harm out of the house that morning."

"I could bring AJ with me and you could suggest that Harm take Bud flying," Harriet suggested. "They haven't gone in a while and Bud really misses it."

"There's an idea," Mac said thoughtfully. "That's probably one of the few guaranteed ways to get Harm out of the house. Tell him to go flying. He hasn't been since we found out I'm pregnant, so he'll probably jump at the chance."

"Does he still have that yellow Stearman that he restored?" Kate asked.

"Of course," Mac replied.

"A Stearman is an old World War I-era biplane, isn't it?" Jon asked.

"Yes," Mac answered. "His grandfather earned his Navy wings in a similar plane. Harm's dad bought the plane and they were going to restore it together. After his dad went MIA, the plane sat on his grandmother's farm until Harm started restoring it after his crash."

"I remember the first time I went up in that plane," Meg said. "He was doing all these rolls and loops and I kept checking to make sure I was securely strapped into my seat."

"First time I went up," Mac related, "he gave me the controls and had me do a roll. Then I did a loop and had trouble pulling out of it. I'm terrified that I'm going to crash this plane into the ground and Harm is sitting in the rear cockpit laughing."

"From what I heard from Bud," Harriet interjected, "nearly crashing that plane into the ground was the least of your worries on that trip."

"Please, don't remind me," Mac joked. "After everything that happened on that trip, it took him six months to convince me to go back up with him and that was only after he promised to bring weapons in case we had to make another emergency landing."

"This is another story I don't think I've heard," Sydney commented as Mac groaned.

"Please, don't tell Sydney this story," she urged Harriet and Jackie. "She doesn't need to hear any more stories that she can use against me at my engagement party." While Harriet and Jackie both nodded, Harriet looked at Sydney and mouthed 'Later'.

-----

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

SUNDAY, 27 AUGUST  
1445 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Why didn't you wake me?" Mac asked as Harm came in from jogging. "I would have gone with you."

Harm walked over to the couch and leaned over her, kissing the top of her head. "I thought you could use the sleep," he said as he sat next to her on the couch. "You were restless last night."

"I had a hard time finding a comfortable position to sleep in," Mac explained. "I didn't keep you up, did I?"

Harm brushed off her concern. "I'm fine," he assured her. If she had to live with nine months of weight gain and lack of sleep, among other things, it wouldn't hurt him to lose some sleep too. Watching the pregnancy progress had given him a new appreciation of what women went through. "Do you have any plans for today?"

"The Lawson court-martial is starting tomorrow, so Bud is going to come over this afternoon and we're going to do a final run through our plan of attack," she said. "He's bringing AJ with him. He said that Harriet could use the break to catch up on some sleep."

Harm's appreciation rose another notch. Not only did Harriet have to deal with the weight gain, lack of sleep and the other associated effects of pregnancy, she had to do it while trying to keep up with an active toddler. "What about you?" he asked, concerned. "You've only been back at work a week so you're still playing catch up plus you haven't been getting as much sleep as usual recently."

"Harm, I appreciate the concern, but I'm doing okay," she said. "I'll take a nap this afternoon after Bud leaves. Anyway, I've still got six months to go. I don't think it's going to get better any time soon."

"I just don't want you overdoing it, okay?"

Mac looked at him silently, the message in her eyes clear. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I know," he added. "You're a Marine and you can take care of yourself. Doesn't mean I'm not going to be concerned and watch over you."

Tears started falling from Mac's eyes, startling Harm. Without a word, he pulled her into his arms so that she was sitting across his lap and just held her as she cried against his chest. After a moment, she pulled away slightly and looked up at him as he brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said, smiling slightly. "I guess it's one of those hormonal things. I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just not used to being cared for like that."

"What about Brumby?" he asked reluctantly. "I may not like the guy, but ..."

"Yeah, he was sweet and he liked to take care of me," she explained, "but sometimes - I don't know. It's almost like his attention could be suffocating at times. You remember when Coster was stalking me? You were concerned and you showed that, but you also knew when to back off and let me deal with things at my own pace. Or like when my father died and you knew just how far to push me to get me to do what I needed to do for myself. When I went to Australia after that incident with the mishap report, I know he was trying to show his concern, but he kept pushing me to talk about what had happened and to let him help. I had already discussed what had happened with you and I really didn't need to rehash it. What I needed was a chance to get away from it all with no pressures."

"And you didn't get that?" Harm asked, trying not to sound judgmental.

"I know he was trying his best," she answered, "but he didn't really understand what I needed. He never really knew me well enough to know when to push me and to know when to back away. On the other hand, you always seemed to know that."

"Maybe it's because we've known each other so long," he pondered, "or that we just belonged together, even though we were too stupid or too blind to see or admit it."

"Given that, it seems a little hard to believe that I agreed to consider marrying him," she mused.

"Well, unfortunately, I didn't help out my cause after nearly six months on the Patrick Henry and those two weeks in Australia," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but if I'd listened better in Australia ..." she began, then shook her head. "We've already been over this. I don't see the need to rehash it."

Time to back off, Harm thought. Changing the subject, he asked, "What time is Bud coming over?"

"He said that he was going to have lunch with Harriet and AJ first," she replied, "so about one."

Harm glanced at his watch, then looked at Mac, a gleam in his eye. "I did just come in from jogging," he said suggestively as he let his hands roam over her back, "so I need to take a shower. Care to join me?"

"Well, I already took one this morning," she teased, resisting the urge to laugh at the crestfallen look on his face. "But I would not object to taking another one," she added, pressing against him.

-----

Later, Harm laid back on their bed, propped up on pillows as he watched Mac get dressed, an appreciative smile on his face.

"Are you planning on getting dressed," she asked as she buttoned her shirt, "or are you going to lay up here all afternoon while I'm downstairs with Bud and AJ?"

Harm's answer was cut off by the ringing of the phone. Mac, standing next to the nightstand, picked it up. "Hello?"

"Colonel Mackenzie, it's Meg Austin," Meg said. "I was wondering, if you haven't eaten already, if you and Harm would like to have lunch with me."

"Please, call me Mac," Mac insisted. "And I'm sorry, I'm meeting with Bud about a trial starting tomorrow, but let me pass you over to Harm. Maybe he 'd like to go." She covered the mouthpiece with her hand as Harm looked at her questioningly. "It's Meg. She wanted to know if we'd like to have lunch with her. I can't since Bud is going to be here in twenty-three minutes, but maybe you'd like to."

Harm took the phone from her. "Hi, Meg," he said.

"I thought you and Mac would like to go to lunch with me," she explained. "Kate and Jon both have friends in the DC area that they're visiting and Commander Krennick - well, she wouldn't be my first choice for a lunch companion."

Harm laughed, "Mine either. As you've already heard, Mac is working today, but I don't have any plans, so I'd be happy to join you. Did you have someplace in mind?"

"Well, I'm staying in billeting at Ft. McNair and someone told me that the food at the O Club here is pretty good," Meg said. "It's just down the street, which is convenient since Krennick has the car."

"If you'd like to go off post, I can take you somewhere," Harm suggested.

"The O Club is fine," Meg assured him. "What time do you want to meet?"

Harm considered for a moment. "Give me about forty-five minutes," he said.

"Okay," Meg agreed. "I'll see you then. Bye, Harm."

"Bye, Meg," Harm returned and hung up the phone just as Mac tossed some clothes in his direction. As he began dressing, he asked, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No, go ahead," Mac said. "I gave Meg and Kate our number yesterday because I figured they would want to get together with you sometime while they're in town. It was nice of Meg to include me in the invitation. I'm sorry I can't come. Anyway, I was thinking about inviting them both over for dinner sometime. We talked some in the stands during the game yesterday and I like them. Now, if Krennick had called ..."

"Don't worry," Harm said. "If she had called, I wouldn't agree to get together with her under any circumstances, even if she did invite you along. Neither of us needs that particular headache."

"Agreed," she replied. "Didn't we agree that we that we were going to forget about her this weekend?"

"Her who?" Harm teased.

-----

1730 ZULU  
FT. MCNAIR OFFICER'S CLUB  
WASHINGTON D.C.

"I'm sorry Mac couldn't join us," Meg said. "I like her, Harm. She's nice, she has a pretty good sense of humor for a Marine, and most importantly, she makes you happy."

"She does make me happy," Harm agreed as he took a bite of his salad.

"I could tell," she replied. "Yesterday, at the picnic after the game, I watched you two together. It was cute watching how you would hold her hand or put your hand on her stomach and listening to you call her 'Sarah'."

"Cute?" Harm echoed.

"Yeah, cute," Meg confirmed, smiling. "Seriously, with her you seem more, I don't know, relaxed than I think I've ever seen you. Your life has always revolved around the Navy, whether it was flying or JAG. You seem to have different priorities now. I'm sure your career is still important to you, but your life seems more balanced now."

"You're right," he agreed. "My life has always revolved around the Navy, even when I was a kid, having an MIA father, wanting to be just like him. I've always wanted a family, but never really pursued the idea, except for once and then it was too late."

"You mean Diane," she stated. "You took it hard when she died."

"I did," he said, "and it took a long time to get over. But I finally did, with help."

"Mac."

Harm nodded. "I had never told her about Diane," he explained. "When she finally found out, she listened to me talk about her and then she stopped me from making what would have been one of the stupidest mistakes of my life when I finally found her killer."

"You found her killer?" Meg asked. "Who?"

"Commander Holbarth, the _Sea Hawk_'s XO," he replied. "When he ignored her sexual harassment claims, she threatened to report him, so he killed her. When I found out, I went after him and Sarah followed me."

"You wanted to kill him," she stated.

"Before I could do anything, Sarah showed up and Holbarth had a rather strong reaction," he revealed.

"He thought he'd seen a ghost?" she asked.

Harm nodded again and added, "It was raining that night and I'd left her standing out in it outside my apartment. Bud offered her one of Harriet's uniforms to wear, so when she showed up in Norfolk, wearing a Navy uniform, Holbarth thought Diane's ghost had come back to haunt him. He lost his footing and fell off the dock. He was crushed between the dock and the hull of a ship."

"It must have been pretty hard for you, too," Meg commented, "seeing Mac in that uniform."

"Not as hard as the first time we met," he replied. "Then, even with her wearing a Marine uniform, all I could see was Diane's face. But it didn't take me long to realize that while they may look alike, inside they were completely different. But that night, while I was a bit stunned when I first saw her in the uniform, I knew it was her." He was silent for a moment, looking down at his salad before continuing. "She told me that I saw her as Diane that night and I never corrected that assumption," he added quietly.

"You know, when I first saw her in the Admiral's office Tuesday morning," Meg said, "it startled me. Then someone told me that you two were getting married and I admit that I was a little worried about you. I'm sorry, I know that probably sounds bad, suggesting that you would fall for her looks alone or use her as a substitute for a dead woman."

"I can see how people who don't know Mac and I or who haven't seen us together might think that," Harm said. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Anyway," she continued, "you're obviously very happy, so I'm happy for you. I'm looking forward to the wedding."

"I've got invitations for both you and Kate," he told her. "I'll bring them to work tomorrow."

"Mac said that yesterday," she said. "We're both looking forward to it. I don't think either of us is willing to pass up the chance to watch Harmon Rabb, of all people, get married."

"Very funny, Meg," he said. "I know we haven't been in contact much since you left Washington, but you are a good friend and it means a lot to me that you're happy for me."

"You know, I'm not sure if I should ask this, but speaking of old friends, what about Krennick?" she asked. "Does she know yet? I noticed yesterday you got this funny look on your face when her name was mentioned."

Harm was silent for a moment and Meg noticed that he got that same funny look again. Finally, he said, "I stopped in at JAG yesterday morning and ran into her. She knows that I'm getting married, but unless someone has told her more since then, she doesn't know it's Sarah."

"From the look on your face yesterday and just now, I'd say that seeing her yesterday did not go well," Meg commented.

"She made some rude comments about Sarah and her resemblance to Diane," he explained, "among other things. I left right after that."

And you were pretty angry, I'll bet, Meg thought. "I take it she is who you were talking about when you mentioned the possibility of people who haven't seen you and Mac together jumping to the wrong conclusions," she said. "I'm sure it is not a surprise to you that she was interested in you, back when we were all at JAG together."

"No, it isn't," he confirmed. "But it surprises me that you are aware of it. She was always so careful to avoid anything in public that might be construed as improper. It wouldn't have helped her ambitions to be charged with sexual harassment."

"I wouldn't have been," she replied, "if it weren't for Hong Kong. Otherwise, she was always careful to present a strictly professional front in public."

"What happened in Hong Kong?" he asked.

"When you were missing, she admitted that she wanted you," Meg revealed. "If she hadn't thought that you might be dead, I know she wouldn't have said anything." Meg didn't think there would be any benefit in telling him that she had admitted the same thing and for the same reason. "You think she might cause problems, especially after she finds out that you're marrying Mac?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "I hope not. After everything that's happened, Sarah doesn't need the additional stress."

"You know, I don't know Mac very well and I haven't seen that much of you two together," Meg said, "but from what I saw yesterday and from listening to you talk about her today - if you two love each other as much as I think you do, then you'll be fine. She won't be able to touch you."

"Thanks, Meg," Harm said. "That means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"Anytime, Harm," she said, smiling. "Anytime."

-----

MONDAY, 28 AUGUST  
1150 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm breathed a sigh of relief as he entered his office. He and Mac had not run into Krennick when they had arrived at work. Questioning Gunny, he found out that the four visitors were meeting with the Admiral about their cases. He resolved to stay away from her as much as possible and to not let her get to him if he did run into her.

Smiling, he headed for the kitchen to get some coffee, where he ran into Tiner. "Good morning, Tiner," he said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Sir," Tiner replied.

"When do you start OCS?" Harm asked. "I haven't heard anything about it since the Admiral announced it in the staff meeting a few weeks ago. We were supposed to have a party for you that Friday."

Tiner remembered. The Admiral had made the announcement the day of the shooting and after what had happened, no one had been in the party mood. "2 October, Sir," he replied. "Then I start law school at George Mason the week after I return from Pensacola."

"Not much time to catch your breath," Harm commented, sipping his coffee.

"No, Sir," Tiner agreed, "especially starting back to work here at the same time. But I am looking forward to working with Colonel Mackenzie and you, at least when you're not on the Hill."

Harm smiled. The Admiral had already informed him that Tiner would be aiding him and Mac, much as Bud had done while he was in law school, although Tiner would also spend a few weeks shadowing Carolyn and Alan while Harm and Mac were on leave after the babies were born. "We're looking forward to having you work with us," Harm told him as Allison and Jon entered the kitchen. Forcing himself to keep smiling, he greeted them with a nod and said, "Commander, Major. Tiner, if the Admiral asks about my Ft. Worth report, I'll have it for him before the staff meeting. I'm getting ready to go over it one last time."

"Yes, Sir," Tiner replied as Harm left the kitchen. Allison quickly poured herself a cup of coffee and followed Harm back to his office.

In her own office, Mac looked up from the Lawson file just in time to see Allison head for Harm's office. Sighing, she considered calling Harm's phone to give him an escape, but decided against it. But she would keep her ears open just in case things got heated in there.

Allison entered the office without knocking to find Harm already seated at his desk, going over the report for the Admiral. "Commander, I need to go over your statement in the Johns case with you this morning," she said without preamble.

Harm didn't look up from his report, replying, "I need to finish this report for the Admiral and then, as I'm sure you are already aware, there is a staff meeting. I should have some time after that however."

Allison pushed the door closed and leaned over his desk. "Commander," she said, placing special emphasis on his rank, "you seem to be taking this case rather lightly."

Harm finally looked up, barely concealed fury evident in his eyes. "Oh, I take this case very seriously, Commander," he said angrily. "The woman I love could have died at that ... bastard's ... hands. We could have lost the babies she is carrying. Two other people did die and three others were injured, also. You have no idea what I am feeling, so do not **presume** to tell me that I am taking this lightly. Once again, you are way out of line."

She forced herself not to react. Unlike Meg and Kate, she had not heard that Harm and Mac were expecting more than one baby. Damn her, Allison thought. That Marine obviously has a very tight hold on Harm. "It is my job to win this case, Commander," she retorted, "and to do that, I need the cooperation of all the witnesses. I'm going for the death penalty and I intend to win."

"And when you do win it, I'm sure there will be more than one person here who would be happy to throw the switch," he said. "I have no doubts in your ability as a prosecutor. Everyone in this building is behind you and Major Williams one hundred percent on this case. Just don't make this personal between me and you. There is no me and you. Never has been and never will be."

"Speaking of which," Allison asked, "have you told your girlfriend about us? Better yet, how much does she know about Diane? I can't believe that you're pining over your dead Academy sweetheart that much that you would go out and find a woman who looks exactly like her. I wonder how your Colonel would feel about that?"

His eyes on her, Harm picked up his phone and hit a button. "Can you come in here please?" he asked, then hung up the phone. A moment later, there was a knock at the door and Mac stuck her head in. Harm gestured her in. "Please close the door behind you," he said.

Mac did as he requested and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk while Allison remained standing, barely controlling her rage. She couldn't believe that Harm was managing to push all the wrong buttons in her, never stopping to consider that she'd brought it on herself.

"Commander Krennick, I want to get something straight with you," he said, "and I want Sarah to hear this. You see, we have no secrets from each other." He looked her straight in the eye and continued, remaining deadly calm, "You are here to prosecute a case which my fiancée and I have the misfortune of being involved in. We support your prosecution of this case and have no problem dealing with you in that capacity.

"But should you approach either of us outside of your professional capacity as prosecutor of this case, I will have no problem with going to Admiral Chegwidden and telling him everything, from the first time you approached me at my apartment to the conversations Saturday and this morning." He paused to let the promise sink in, then continued, "You once indicated that you saw me as a threat to your ambitions. You push me - either of us - and you will find out just how much of a threat I can be. Have I made myself clear?"

"I believe you are perfectly clear, Commander," Allison replied tightly.

"Good," Harm said. "Then I would appreciate it if you would leave now. I will see you and Major Williams after the staff meeting to discuss my statement in the Johns case. Is that acceptable?"

"It is, Commander," she replied before turning and leaving the office, closing the door behind her.

After she was gone, Harm let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry about that," he said, "but I wanted to make sure she is aware of where I stand once and for all and that I mean business."

"Harm, I'm sure you realize that you just backed her into a corner," Mac said, taking one of his hands in hers across the desk. "She may lash out."

"I know," he said, "but I have made her aware that if she does, I intend to lash back. You know, back then I was a little bit flattered by the attention from her. And it did occur to me that if I had reported her, it be a blow to my ego for people to think that I couldn't handle a woman. But it's not just me involved this time. You and our children are my life and what affects me affect you."

"Harm, you know I am behind you completely," Mac said. "I just wish I was more confident that this is the right way to go."

"I just hope Krennick will take the time to think about it," he said, "and decide that I am not worth risking her career over. If I do have to go to the Admiral, it would very likely ruin her career since it would not simply be a case of he said/she said."

"You mean, because Bud knows about the harassment," she suggested.

"Not only that," he told her, "but Meg told me yesterday at lunch about a conversation that she and Krennick once had when I was being held captive by the Chinese. Of course, Krennick was too smart to say that she was harassing me, but she did admit to Meg that she wanted me."

"In and of itself, not really damning," Mac mused, "but combined with yours and Bud's stories of the actual harassment ..."

"It would bury her," he finished.

-----

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST  
1620 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac wearily sank into her office chair after court recessed for lunch, kicking off her shoes underneath the desk and flexing her ankles. She idly wondered if anyone would notice if she just closed her office door for a couple of hours and took a nap. She could let Bud handle the prosecution in the Lawson case and she could rest her aching and tired body.

"And I have to go through this for almost six more months?" she muttered to herself.

"Sorry, Ma'am?" Harriet asked from the doorway.

"Just talking to myself," Mac said, motioning her into the office and towards a chair. "I didn't see you there. Did you need something, Harriet?"

"I just wanted to see if you would like to have lunch with me, Colonel," Harriet said as she sat down. "Bud got called into the Admiral's office just now and I noticed that Commander Rabb is nowhere around."

"I must be more tired than I thought," Mac said, noticing for the first time that from her vantage point, it was obvious the lights in Harm's office were off. "I hadn't even noticed that Harm wasn't here." She looked down at her desk and found a folded sheet of paper. She unfolded it and quickly read the brief note.

"'Got called to Bobbi's office. Will try to be back in time for lunch. Love you, H.,'" she read aloud to Harriet. "Since he obviously has not made it back yet, I think I will have lunch with you. Maybe you can give me some tips on making through the next six months."

"I don't know how much advice I can offer, Ma'am," Harriet said as Mac slowly rose from her chair and grabbed her cover. "I mean, I'm sure having one baby at a time is a lot different from having two."

"Harriet, one baby or two, I've never done this before," she reminded her friend as they headed for the kitchen. "On that score, you know a lot more about pregnancy than I do."

"I guess so, Ma'am," Harriet replied as they entered the kitchen.

Mac opened the fridge and looked for the lunch that Harm had put away that morning. Spotting it, she put a hand on her hip and sighed, "Only a man ..."

"Ma'am?"

Mac gestured towards the open fridge. "Only a man would put a pregnant woman's lunch on the bottom shelf," she completed the thought. Carefully, she stooped and pulled her lunch container out of the fridge then slowly straightened back up.

"Ma'am, you know I love Bud," Harriet said, "and I know you love Commander Rabb. But if we were to wait for them to be considerate all the time about our conditions, we'd be waiting a long time. I mean, a few months ago, when I was trying on dresses for the Surface Warfare Ball and nothing fit, Bud commented that because I was pregnant, I was supposed to look fat."

Mac looked at her for a moment, trying to determine if she was serious. "Bud said that?" she asked, incredulous. "Harm has actually been the opposite in that regard. He's been trying his hardest to reassure me that I look beautiful, not fat."

"Maybe he could give Bud some pointers," Harriet said wistfully as she reached around Mac to get her own lunch off the top shelf in the fridge.

The two women took their lunches downstairs and found an empty table in the courtyard to sit at. Harriet was surprised when Mac pulled out a salad. "Did you grab Commander Rabb's lunch by mistake, Ma'am?" she asked.

"No, but Harm did pack this for me," Mac replied. "With the babies on the way, he's trying to get me to lay off the Beltway Burgers. But how I'm supposed to eat four thousand calories a day on this stuff, I'll never know."

"Four thousand calories, Ma'am?" Harriet asked.

"Dr. Calder said that a daily intake of about four thousand calories helps insure a good birth weight for the babies," Mac explained. "She said that low birth weight can be a result of the mother not eating enough, especially in twins." She paused for a moment, laughing. "You should have seen the look on Harm's face when she said that food high in protein should be a big part of my diet, such as meat. But I did agree to try and cut down on the fat and the junk food."

"Except for the chocolate," Harriet added, laughing.

Mac nodded. "I need one vice," she said. "I've given up caffeine – only decaf coffee or tea for me. I'm cutting down on fat and junk food. I think I'm entitled to one little bad habit."

"But chocolate has caffeine," Harriet pointed out.

"Okay, so I'm not giving up caffeine completely," Mac defended herself. "It's the babies' fault. I never was much of a chocolate eater before I got pregnant."

"That's one way to look at it," Harriet agreed. Then she smiled slyly. "Or we could always blame the men who put us in this position. After all, they don't have to be pregnant for nine months, do they?"

Mac laughed loudly at that, causing everyone within earshot to turn and look at her. She covered her mouth, trying to stop laughing, as Harm walked up to their table, briefcase in hand. "What's so funny, Marine?" he asked.

Mac only laughed harder, shaking her head as Harriet said, trying not to laugh herself, "Just girl talk, Commander."

"Girl talk. Uh huh," he said in disbelief as he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to their table, sitting down.

"So how was your meeting with Congresswoman Latham, Commander?" Harriet asked, trying to divert his attention while Mac attempted to calm herself.

"Fine, Harriet," he replied, distracted, staring at Mac intently. "Sarah?"

Mac finally managed to bring herself somewhat under control. Still smiling, she replied, "I'm fine. Just having a good laugh. There hasn't been much to laugh about recently."

"I guess," he replied, still curious about what exactly it was that had amused her so much.

Mac was saved from explaining more when she caught sight of Kate walking in their direction. "Kate, would you like to join us?" she asked once the other woman was within earshot.

"Actually," Kate replied, "I was looking for you and Harm, anyway. I need to talk to you about the Hodges case."

"Maybe I should go back inside and see if Bud is finished with the Admiral," Harriet suggested as she started to get up.

"No need to leave on my account," Kate assured her. "I just wanted to discuss with Harm and Mac the plea bargain the defense has suggested."

"What kind of plea bargain?" Harm asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Reduced charges, Hodge goes to a psych hospital instead of back to Leavenworth," Kate told them, "and we don't tack on the remainder of his sentence from the previous charges."

"Don't tell me you've already agreed to this?" Harm said, the edge to his voice even more intense.

"Harm," Mac said soothingly, putting a hand on his arm, "let Kate finish."

"It's okay," Kate said. "I think I can understand why Harm feels the way he does. And no, Meg and I have not agreed to this. We both did agree that we wanted to talk to you about this first before we decided anything."

"Let's see if I've got this straight," Mac interjected. "Hodge goes to a psych ward for treatment, in a few years he is declared cured and released instead of going back to Leavenworth to serve out the remainder of his sentence for the previous charges from the _Watertown_."

"Well," Kate said, "his attorney's argument is that he was lawfully released from Leavenworth."

"Released because of a clerical error on some paperwork," Harm said angrily.

"I know," Kate sighed. "And believe me, after going over the case file from the _Watertown_ and talking to Mac last week, I'd like nothing more than for him to go back to Leavenworth and serve the rest of his original sentence. But I don't know if it is that simple. He was released because of a mistake the military made. The UCMJ doesn't really cover this type of situation."

"Kate," Mac said, trying to be the voice of reason, "I think it would be one thing if, after Hodge had been released, he had gone on the straight and narrow. But he didn't. He falsified records to get a job at Bethesda and created situations where he could play the hero. There were – what? – three other patients besides me where hospital officials suspect him of tampering with their medications or equipment."

Harm looked at Mac curiously. He had never told her all the details of his conversation with the Admiral, where he had found out how Hodge had been released from Leavenworth and about the other suspected incidents at Bethesda.

"That is true," Kate admitted, "but a lot of the evidence against Hodge in the other cases besides yours is circumstantial at best. He got really good at covering his tracks. Be honest. If you hadn't recognized Hodge, despite his changed appearance, would you have suspected Nurse Eustis of having tampered with your ventilator?"

"Probably not," she replied softly. "If this were my case to prosecute, I could see the difficulties. Your major evidence against Hodge is my ID of him. The oxygen tank he removed from my room was never found and no one saw him enter or leave the room. In addition, no one would have suspected any of the other incidents if it weren't for the similarities to what happened to me. But none of that negates the fact that Hodge did not serve his full term in his first case."

"Which leads me to my thoughts on a plea," Kate said. "We agree to the reduced charges and the psych hospital in the current case but insist that when he is released from the hospital, he return to Leavenworth to serve the rest of his sentence on the original charges that he has already been convicted of."

"The defense would never go for it," Harm said, his voice calmer. "Not if he thinks he can successfully argue that Hodge shouldn't be penalized because of a mistake the military made."

"I know, it's a long shot," Kate said, "which is why I need some help doing research. I'd like to find some cases, military or civilian, where this type of situation has been dealt with before. If we can go into negotiations with some cases that back up our position, it would give us the upper hand."

"I can help with that," Mac said. "My case load is still pretty light. The Lawson trial is nearly over and the Admiral hasn't given me any new cases yet. Anyway, I have a vested interest in making sure Hodge pays for what he has done."

"I can help, too," Harriet offered. "I help Bud with a lot of the research for his cases. I'm sure Gunny would be willing to help, also. He is really good at finding things out."

"Thanks," Kate said. "I appreciate the offer of help and I'm sure Meg will, too."

"On that note," Mac said, pushing her chair out from the table, "I really should get back. Court starts up again in thirteen minutes. Harriet, maybe we should get together with Gunny later and decide how to divide up the research."

She took one of Harm's hands in hers and squeezed gently, smiling at him. Leaning over, she whispered, "Try not to worry." Releasing his hand, she headed for the building.

"I really should go, also," Harriet said with a slight grimace. "I promised Lieutenant Singer some help with researching her current case." She got up and left, leaving Harm and Kate alone.

"From that look on Harriet's face," Kate commented, "I gather she doesn't really care for Lieutenant Singer."

Harm smiled grimly. "No one really cares for Lieutenant Singer," he explained. "Her ambition is to be the first female JAG and she's not particular about who she has to step on to do it."

"But what about Mac and Commander Imes? They both outrank her," Kate pointed out. Harm was silent and Kate added, "Or has she already tried something underhanded? With Mac perhaps?"

"Is it that obvious?" Harm asked.

"I wouldn't say obvious," Kate replied, "but it seems a logical conclusion given what you just said and the look on your face."

"I've never told anyone this, not even Mac," Harm said quietly. "A few months ago, Mac was prosecuting someone Singer and Bud were defending. Part B of the mishap report in the case somehow found its way onto the front seat of Mac's car. When it came out that Mac had seen the report, however inadvertently, she was thrown off the case. If our CO had been anyone besides Chegwidden, she probably would have been thrown out of JAG."

"And you suspected Singer of planting the report," Kate guessed.

"Exactly," he replied. "After the Admiral chewed her out over it, she took some leave to think things through. I didn't see the point, at the time, of upsetting her further by telling her what I suspected."

"But I can't imagine you just let it drop," Kate said, "not with Mac's career on the line."

"I did suggest to Singer that if I ever found proof of who put the report in Mac's car, that I would destroy that person," he said firmly.

"You really love her a lot, don't you?" Kate said softly, staring at him intently.

"Kate," he said, looking away from her, "I'm sorry if this upsets you."

Kate shook her head, smiling, "No, I'm not upset. You and I had fun together, but I never thought that it would become serious. You and Mac have something special. It was obvious Saturday at the game and picnic."

Harm looked at her and smiled, "Meg said pretty much the same thing when we had lunch Sunday."

"She's right," Kate said. "Having never been there myself, I'm not sure I can explain it very well, but ..."

Harm interrupted, grinning, "I am there and I can't explain it very well."

Kate laughed a little at that. She had never seen him so relaxed and at ease with himself and the world around him. As an ex-lover who still considered him to be a good friend, she was happy for him. She had meant it when she'd said that she had never thought they would become serious. She had been attracted to that grin of his that could melt a woman's insides, his looks and of course the dress whites and gold wings. But the most they'd ever had between them had been lust. They'd just been fortunate in that they had remained friends after it had ended. "I guess the best way I can explain it is that she completes you," she said. "And you her."

Harm looked at her thoughtfully. "That sounds familiar," he said, "and I guess that's as good a way to explain it as any."

"It's a line from _Jerry Macguire_," she explained.

"Ah," he said, understanding dawning. "Maybe it's because she knows me so well, and I her. We've told each other things that we've never told anyone else. And we've been there for each other through some of the worst times of our lives. When I returned to flying and I didn't see her for five months, it was as if a part of me was missing."

"You know what?" Kate said, smiling. "If I ever find a guy who loves me half as much as you obviously love Mac, I'll be one of the luckiest women in the world."

"Thank you," Harm said, "although I guess I'm a little surprised."

"Why, because I'm an ex-lover?" Kate asked. At Harm's shrug, she continued, "Like I said before, I never thought that we would become serious. But I still do consider you a dear friend. And as a friend, I'm very happy for you."

"I guess it's just that the women I've dated since I've known Sarah have tended to be a little jealous of the close friendship we have," he explained. "One even suggested that I was secretly in love with her."

"Maybe they all saw something that you didn't," Kate suggested. "From what I've heard about you two, everyone figured out that you two were made for each other long before you two ever did."

Harm grinned. "Do you know how many times I've heard that over the last few months?" he asked.

Kate laughed, "I can imagine." She stood to leave, then added, "I need to go give Hodge's attorney a call and let him know about our counter offer. Be happy, Harmon Rabb."

Harm watched her leave, thoughtful. He was grateful that Meg and Kate were both happy for him. Even though he hadn't seen them in years, he still considered them good friends. Now if he could just keep Krennick off his back for the next four and a half weeks, everything would be perfect.

-----

1910 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Harm was heading for his office when Gunny stopped him. "Sir, there's a call for the Colonel," he said. He paused for a moment, then added, "It's from Bethesda."

Probably the amnio results, Harm thought, suddenly nervous. "Mac's still in court," he said. "I'll take the call. Please transfer it into my office."

Harm headed for his office, entering just as the phone rang. Sitting down at his desk, he picked up the phone and said, "This is Commander Rabb."

"Hello, Harm, it's Doctor Calder," she said. "Is Sarah available?"

"Sarah's still in court," he said. "I'm not sure when she will be free."

"I really need to go over these test results with her," Calder said. "And before you ask, I can't just tell you. Even if you are the babies' father, Sarah is the patient."

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," he said. "As I lawyer, I understand, unfortunately. I can have her call you back as soon as she ... hold on a minute, I see her coming." Setting down the phone and getting up, he went to the doorway of his office and motioned to Mac.

She turned and headed in his direction. "What is it?" she asked.

He took one of her hands and led her into his office, closing the door behind them. "Dr. Calder's on the phone," he told her. "She has your test results."

Mac took a deep breath and Harm could feel her hand trembling in his. "I'm sure it will be fine," he said. "If it was bad news, don't you think she'd tell us in person and not over the phone?"

Mac nodded hesitantly. "You right," she said softly. "If it was bad, she wouldn't do this over the phone."

Harm gestured for her to sit in his chair. She did and picked up the phone lying in the middle of the desk. "Dr. Calder, it's Sarah," she said. "Are my babies okay?"

"The babies are fine, Sarah," Calder reassured her. "The amnio found no abnormalities. Are you ready to hear the sex of the other baby?"

Mac looked at Harm and smiled, silently letting him know that everything was fine. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Yes," she said, "I'm ready."

"As you know from the ultrasound," Calder said, "twin A is a girl and the amnio confirmed that. As for twin B ..."

As she remembered the ultrasound, an idea came to Mac and she suddenly interrupted, "Dr. Calder, before you say any more, I have an idea. Since Harm couldn't be with me when I had the ultrasound and found out the sex of the first baby, I want you to tell him the sex of the other." She paused as Harm looked at her, surprised. "I think it's fair," she explained, as much to Harm as to the doctor. "I was the first to find out the sex of the first baby, so I want him to be the first to find out about the other one."

She handed the phone to Harm as he mouthed the question 'Are you sure?' At her nod, he took the phone and said, "Dr. Calder, it's Harm." He nodded, then added, "Thank you, Doctor. We'll see you next week at Sarah's appointment. Goodbye."

He reached around Mac to hand up the phone, then pulled a chair around the desk and sat down next to her. He took her hands in his, fiddling with the engagement ring on her left hand.

His silence was beginning to unnerve Mac, despite the knowledge that everything was fine with the twins. "Harm, we're not talking life and death here," she joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Just tell me, are we having a boy or a girl?"

Harm chuckled a little. "Sorry, it's just – I'm suddenly overwhelmed," he tried to explain. "When we first made that deal last year, I never expected it to feel like this."

Mac smiled as she remembered their deal and how she had told him about the sex of the first baby. "Well, how about this," she asked, "is he going to have my looks and your brains or are we having another one with your looks and my brain?"

Harm grinned at her and took a deep breath. "Let's just say," he said, "that he'll be perfect."

"He?" Mac echoed, dazed.

Harm nodded. "We're going to have a son," he whispered.

Tears in her eyes, Mac repeated softly, "We're going to have a son." Suddenly, she cried out in excitement, throwing herself into his arms.

Outside Harm's office, everyone within earshot stopped and turned towards the closed door, curious. Gunny, who had an idea what the call had been about, rushed in to allow the couple their privacy. "Come on, people," he said. "There's nothing to see here."

Everyone gathered in the bullpen turned and looked at him, about to protest, until they all noticed the Admiral standing behind him. Suddenly, everyone found other things to do and other places to be, scattering. Gunny turned around and looked at the Admiral, who in turn was looking at the closed office door.

"Gunny, any idea?" he asked, nodding towards the door.

"Colonel Mackenzie got a call from Bethesda," he explained quietly so that no one else would overhear. "I believe it was from her OB."

AJ nodded, thoughtful. "I hope everything is okay," he said as the office door opened. One look at Harm and Mac and AJ knew that all was well. Both were smiling and Harm's hand was resting on Mac's shoulder.

"Since I'm sure everyone is curious," Harm said as everyone stopped and turned to look at them, "we have an announcement to make." He looked around the bullpen before continuing. "Are Bud and Harriet around?"

Loren, standing at the edge of the bullpen, went to Bud's office. She found Bud at his desk, looking through a file. "Bud, where's Harriet?" she asked. "Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie said they have an announcement to make and they asked for both of you."

"I think she went to the bathroom," Bud said.

"I'll go get her," Loren said. "You head out to the bullpen."

Bud went to the bullpen to find most of the staff gathered. A moment later, Loren and Harriet entered the bullpen, coming to stand behind him.

Harm looked around and satisfied that everyone important to them was present, he continued, "Last week, we found out the sex of one of our babies, but we wanted to wait until we knew what the other one is going to be before we made an announcement."

He looked at Mac and she continued, "I just got a call with the results of the amnio that I had last week. First, the babies are fine. There are no problems due to the shooting or the surgery." She paused as everyone expressed their relief at that news.

After a few moments, everyone quieted and looked back at her and Harm expectantly. "As Harm said, last week we found out from an ultrasound the sex of one of the babies, which is a girl," she went on, excited. "The other baby, we just found out from the amnio results, is a boy."

"We're going to have one of each," Harm finished, smiling widely.

"That's wonderful, Sir, Ma'am," Harriet said excitedly as she walked up to them. "I'm so happy for both of you."

"Thank you, Harriet," Mac said as all their friends gathered around to offer their congratulations.

As Kate and Meg were offering their good wishes, Harm looked past them to see Allison standing at the edge of the bullpen, watching with an unreadable expression on her face. Noticing Harm's eyes on her, she turned suddenly and walked away.

Harm wasn't the only one who had noticed Allison's reaction to the news. Watching while everyone else offered their best wishes, AJ was looking around the bullpen when he saw Allison turn and leave. He knew that Allison and Harm had their problems professionally before she had transferred to Hawaii, but he didn't understand why Harm and Mac's news apparently upset her enough that she left so suddenly.

Pushing his concerns aside for now, AJ let the commotion continue for a few moments before he said loudly, "Let's get back to work, people." Everyone moved off, going back to their work.

AJ looked at Harm and Mac and smiled before heading back into his own office. "Hoo rah," he said, just loud enough for Harm and Mac to hear.

-----

FRIDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER  
2135 ZULU  
BABIES R US  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"You know, we still have almost six months before they will even be here," Harm pointed out as he and Mac began exploring the store. "But we are getting married four weeks from tomorrow. We should be concentrating on that right now."

"Maybe they'll be here in six months, maybe not," she reminded him. "Anyway, the wedding is coming together just fine with all our friends' help. So I want to spend an evening concentrating on our babies."

"The nursery isn't anywhere near being ready to start putting furniture in there yet," he said. "I still need to paint in there and put up wallpaper, if we want it."

"Harm, there is nothing wrong with looking and planning," Mac said, beginning to sound exasperated. "We are going to have twins, meaning we have to buy double of everything. Not to mention the fact that we are having a boy and a girl, meaning we have to buy for both sexes. That is going to take planning. In addition, we probably should have paint and wallpaper picked out before you do that, shouldn't we?"

Harm held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, point taken," he said, hoping to calm her down. "We can look and think about what we need to buy. Did you talk to Harriet?"

"Yes," Mac said, pulling a folded sheet of paper out of her purse and handing it to him, "and she gave me this. It's something Bud pulled off the internet when they were expecting AJ. It's a checklist of things to buy."

Harm unfolded the paper and glanced at it, his mouth dropping open in surprise. "They need all this?" he asked.

"Yes, they do," Mac said, taking the list back from him. "And we need double of everything, remember?"

"We could almost send them to college on what we're going to have to spend on them," he said, stunned, "and they're not even here yet."

"Harm, these are our children and money is no object," she said, glaring at him.

Oh, no, he thought. Time for a hasty retreat. "Sarah, I didn't mean it like that," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Come on. What do you want to look at first?"

"Why don't we start with cribs?" she suggested, calmer now. "They're going to be spending quite a bit of their time there." She led him towards the display of cribs as she added, "Harriet suggested getting a convertible crib."

"Convertible? Sounds like a car," he said, confused.

"It's a crib that can grow with the baby," she explained. "As the baby outgrows the crib, it can convert to a toddler bed, then to a headboard for a double bed. Saves having to buy a new bed as they get bigger."

"That sounds reasonable," he said as they separated and began looking at the hang tags on various cribs.

After a few minutes, Mac waved him over to where she was. "Here's one," she said.

He joined her and looked the crib over, shaking it. At her puzzled look, he said, "Bud suggested it, to check for sturdiness. We don't want a crib that will fall apart." He then looked at the tag. "Almost four hundred dollars for a crib!" he exclaimed.

Mac took a deep breath before replying, "I know, it's a little on the expensive side. But do we want to spend less money now and have to spend hundreds more dollars in a year or two for a new bed, or spend more money now on a piece of furniture that we can use for years."

Harm shrugged. "When you put it that way," he said, "it sounds more reasonable. But that's eight hundred dollars for two. I don't think my – correction, our bed – cost that much."

"That's because you made the headboard when you were remodeling your apartment," she pointed out. "All you had to buy were the mattress, box spring and rails."

"Here, Iet's write down the information on the crib," he suggested. "Then we can do some comparison shopping before we actually buy anything."

Mac dug a pen out of her purse and wrote down the manufacturer, model number and price for the crib on the back of her checklist. "We need to look at mattresses next," she said.

"For that price, shouldn't it come with the crib?" he asked, incredulous. Having spent half his adult life on various Naval vessels, he was used to not needing a lot. Even watching Bud and Harriet have AJ, it had never really occurred to him just how much babies needed.

Mac pointed at the tag. "It says 'mattress not included'," she said. They walked over to the mattresses, looking for the dimensions mentioned on the crib's tag. As they looked, Mac asked, "Have you given any thought to baby names since we found out we're having one of each?"

"Well, I'm not sure I want a Harm III," he said, "but other than that, I haven't really thought about boy's names. There is one name I've kind of always had in mind for a girl, but I'm not sure what you're going to think." As he looked over the mattresses, he commented, "Couldn't they standardize the size on these, as they do for adult beds?"

"Why? That would make sense," Mac shot back. "So what's this name you have in mind?"

"Sarah Patricia," he said, "after my grandmother and mother."

"Don't you have enough Sarahs in your life?" she teased. "How about Patricia Sarah?"

"I don't know," he replied, "I just thought Sarah Patricia Rabb sounded better to my ears than Patricia Sarah Rabb. Anyway, what can I say? Sarah has always been a favorite name of mine." He shot her a dazzling grin.

"No," she said, pointing a finger at his chest and shaking her head, even as she felt a familiar warmth spread through her. "I am not letting that flyboy grin of yours get to me. No way."

He looked at her with his best puppy dog eyes and she sighed. He knew just how to make her weak in the knees. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his dress whites or she'd be agreeing with anything he said. "Then I want Harmon for our son," she said as he started shaking his head. "For your father," she added.

"What about Matthew?" he countered. "I would have thought you would want to name a boy after your uncle."

"I can," she said, leaning closer to him. "I think Harmon Matthew Rabb has a nice ring to it. And since he would have a different middle name, he wouldn't technically be Harm III."

"What about Matthew Harmon Rabb?" he asked, even as he knew he would probably give in to her, especially if he wanted her to go along with his name suggestion.

"As someone already said," she pointed out, smiling, "I think Harmon Matthew sounds better to my ears."

Harm sighed. "We don't have to decide now," he said, even as he knew that their children would end up being Sarah Patricia and Harmon Matthew Rabb. "We still have almost six months."

-----

SATURDAY, 2 SEPTEMBER  
1505 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"So, have you given any thought to your married name?" Sydney asked asked as the JAG women all sat around the living room, chatting while they waited for the pizzas they had ordered for lunch to arrive. Aside from the bridal party, who had come to have their measurements taken for their dresses by Rachel Carlisle, the designer Trish had found, Mac had also invited Loren, Meg and Kate for a girls' day together. Everyone, even Loren, was getting along very well together.

Harm had invited AJ, Bud and Alan to the airfield, promising all of them rides in 'Sarah'. Bud, who hadn't been up in the Stearman in a while, and Alan and AJ, who had never been up, had all jumped at the chance. Harriet had brought little AJ with her and after a while of being happily passed around from lap to lap, he had gotten tired and Mac had offered her bed for him to take a nap in.

"I was playing around with it the other day," Mac replied, taking a sip of her glass of milk. Mac had never really cared for it as a drink – unless it was chocolate – but Harm had started insisting that she drink several glasses a day. Sometimes, she was tempted to hide all the baby books from him. She loved him, but sometimes he could be exasperating going on about all the things that he thought she needed to be doing while pregnant. "I got bored during lunch and wrote out several possibilities, trying to decide which one sounded best."

"Well, you have made a name for yourself in the military as Sarah Mackenzie," Harriet pointed out. "That's one of the reasons I decided to keep my maiden name professionally. That, and all the paperwork that has to be filled out to change your name."

"Of course, some women hyphenate their maiden and married names," Carolyn pointed out.

"I thought of both of those," Mac said, "and, of course, Sarah Rabb. Then, I also considered whether I wanted to go by different names professionally and socially or just use one name."

"Sometimes makes you wonder why men can't change their names," Jackie joked as everyone chuckled.

"Finally," Mac continued, "I decided to go for the old-fashioned approach and change my name. I don't think it will make a difference in how I do my job if I go by Sarah Mackenzie or Sarah Rabb. No offense, Harriet."

"None taken," she replied, smiling.

"Anyway, I would be proud to take Harm's name," Mac said. "I also think Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Rabb has nice ring to it. I talked to Gunny yesterday about getting together the paperwork that I will need to change my name on all my military records and to get a new ID card. He has also placed an order for a new sign for my office and business cards. On Monday, I'll order new name tags for my uniforms."

"Well, this will definitely make things easier on the Admiral," Carolyn joked. "Now, instead of asking for Rabb and Mackenzie when he wants to talk to you, he can just yell for Rabb."

Harriet laughed as she added, "I can already hear him now – 'Get me Rabb!'"

Everyone laughed as Loren jumped in, "At least you have different ranks. If anyone wants to differentiate, they can just append Commander or Colonel in front of the name."

"Can you imagine if they were both Navy?" Meg asked. "Then it would be 'Get me Commander Rabb. No, the other Commander Rabb.'"

"Speaking of names, Harriet," Mac said, "have you and Bud thought about names for your baby?"

"Actually, we decided on a name several weeks ago," she said. "We were going to announce it, but then everything happened ..." She trailed off, reluctant to bring up the shooting when everyone was having fun.

"So, don't keep us in suspense, Harriet," Carolyn urged, drawing her attention back to the topic at hand. "What is it?"

"Well, when I was pregnant before, we decided we wanted to name the baby after someone important to both of us," Harriet explained, "which is how we came up with AJ. So we decided to do the same thing with this one."

"Okay, so is it going to be Sarah or Harmony?" Carolyn asked. No one was surprised. Everyone knew that aside from being mentors, Harm and Mac were Bud and Harriet's best friends.

Harriet smiled. "Actually," she replied, "both. We decided on Sarah Harmony Roberts."

"Oh, Harriet," Mac said, tears in her eyes, "I'm honored and I'm sure Harm will be, too." Suddenly, she started laughing, drawing puzzled glances from everyone in the room.

"Mac?" Sydney asked.

"Sorry," Mac said, wiping her eyes, "it's just funny and maybe a little ironic. Harm and I were discussing possible names last night at Babies R Us. Harm said that he has always wanted to name a daughter after his grandmother."

While most everyone looked at her, not sure how that related to Harriet's name choice, Meg and Kate started laughing. "That is funny," Meg agreed. "I guess you could say great minds think alike."

"What is Harm's grandmother's name?" Carolyn asked, curious.

"Sarah," Mac replied, eliciting laughter from everyone else.

"Well, Sarah is a popular name," Jackie pointed out. "I guess if Harm can live with having both a wife and daughter named Sarah, then there's nothing wrong with having both a Sarah Rabb and a Sarah Roberts."

"As was pointed out earlier," Lauren said, "if you want both of them, you only have to call one name."

"So, is this a definite name or are you still thinking about it?" Kate asked.

"Well, nothing is definite yet," Mac replied, "but I have a feeling that we will go with our first choices for names. Harm wants Sarah Patricia for his grandmother and mother and I suggested Harmon Matthew after Harm's father and my uncle."

"So your babies will be named after you and Harm, but not really," Sydney said, amused. "Of course, you could always call them by their middle names to avoid confusion, except that most people call you Mac, so I guess that would cut down on the confusion."

"Except that since we have been together, Harm has taken to calling me Sarah," Mac pointed out, "and I'm not about to suggest he go back to calling me Mac. I really like hearing him call me Sarah." She smiled, remembering how hearing her given name on his lips made her weak in the knees and warm inside.

"You could always swap the names completely," Jackie suggested, "go with Patricia Sarah and Matthew Harmon."

"That idea was discussed, also," Mac replied. "When he first suggested Sarah Patricia, I suggested reversing the names, but Harm is really close to his grandmother, perhaps closer than he is to his mother. After his crash, he spent his time recovering at her farm and she helped him decide to go to law school. I can understand why he would want to name a daughter after her. He suggested the same thing when I said I wanted Harmon Matthew for our son. I told him that if he was going to insist on Sarah for our daughter, then I was going to insist on Harmon for our son."

"Which mean that despite Mac's saying that nothing is definite," Sydney concluded, "we will be welcoming Sarah Patricia Rabb and Harmon Matthew Rabb into the world in about six months."

-----

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

2150 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Hey, is it safe to come in?" Harm called out, smiling, as he entered the house from the garage. He was in a good mood. He had just spent the day flying and it had felt good to be up in the air again, to feel the wind in his hair. And Bud, AJ and Alan had all enjoyed themselves also. It had been a very good day.

He nearly tripped over Jingo stretched out on his side on the floor of the foyer. At the disturbance, the dog lifted his head to look at Harm with tired eyes. Satisfied that nothing was wrong and Harm belonged there, Jingo laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

Harm continued into the living room and found Mac stretched out on the couch asleep, her head resting on her outstretched arm. She looked so peaceful in sleep, he reflected, as if she didn't have a care in the world. He leaned over and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her cheek, brushing a finger across the satin smoothness of her skin. Straightening, he turned to leave, not wanting to disturb her.

"Harm?" Mac asked sleepily, propping herself up on an elbow. Harm turned back to look at her.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, it's okay," she assured him, pushing herself into a sitting position as she rubbed her eyes. "I should get up anyway. I've been asleep for two hours and fourteen minutes."

Harm sat down next to her on the couch, gently rubbing her shoulders and back. "Did you fall asleep after everyone left?" he asked.

Mac nodded. "We had fun today, just sitting around and talking about the wedding and stuff," she explained, "but it was a little tiring, too. I thought I'd lay down and rest a little bit before I cleaned up, but I guess I was more tired than I thought."

As she spoke, Harm stood and started straightening the living room, picking up the papers and notebooks scattered around. "Harm, you don't have to do that," Mac insisted. "I'll take care of it."

"It's not a problem," he said as he put all the papers in a neat stack on the coffee table. "You want to get some more sleep? You could go upstairs and lie down for a while longer."

"No, I really don't want to lie down," she said, stifling a yawn. "So how was your day? Did you and the guys have fun flying?"

"Yes," he replied with a grin. "Bud was happy to go back up again and the Admiral and Mattoni enjoyed it, also. They can't wait to go up again."

"I'm glad everyone had a good time," she said. "I know you haven't been able to go flying as much recently, and I'm ..."

"No, don't say you're sorry," he insisted, walking over to her and placing a finger over her lips. "I don't mind having other things to occupy my time. As much fun as I had flying today, it's not as much fun doing things without you. I missed having you around today."

"Tell me that after we've been married for years," she teased with a chuckle, "and you're just dying to get away from the ball and chain."

"'Ball and chain', huh?" Harm echoed. "I'll never think that."

"So you say," she shot back with a grin. "I'm glad you had a good time today. We did, too. Even Loren was on her best behavior and I think Meg and Kate were happy to be included, also."

"That's definitely a noteworthy event," he commented. "So can I ask what you ladies talked about or is it something men aren't supposed to know?"

"Well, we talked about the wedding, of course," she replied, leaning against his chest as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "Everyone is happy with the dress designs and the colors I picked out. Rachel Carlisle, the designer your mom found, is really great and she doesn't have a problem being available at the last minute to make sure Harriet's and my dresses fit. We're going to get together next Saturday morning for the first fitting of the actual dresses."

"I'm sure Bud, Mattoni and the Admiral will be happy to go flying again," he joked.

"I'm sure they will be," she said. "We also discussed whether I'm going to change my name after we get married."

"Well, are you?" he asked. "I mean, do you want to? I've never brought it up before because I thought it should be your decision. I didn't want it to seem like I was trying to influence you one way or the other."

"Actually," she said, "it wasn't much of a decision to make. After everything that has happened in my life and between us, I really want this to be a new beginning – not just for the two of us and our family, but for me, too." She shrugged. "I don't know if this is making any sense to you, but so much has happened in my life that I'm not proud of. Now, I can make a fresh start and try to put everything bad that's ever happened behind me."

"Sarah, I know you've had a lot of bad things happen in your life," he said, kissing the top of her head, "but going through all those things – and surviving them – has made you into the person you are today. They've made you the woman I fell in love with."

"I know, but I've been carrying around so much baggage for so long," she tried to explain, "that I want to try and start my – our new life together with a clean slate."

"Changing your name or not changing your name isn't going to change who you are," he pointed out.

"I know that," she said, "and it's not just that. Maybe it sounds a little old fashioned, but I would be proud to take your name. I don't feel that I have to keep going by Sarah Mackenzie to have a separate identity. I don't know. This probably isn't making much sense."

"No, I think I understand," he said. "So you want to change your name to Rabb, professionally as well as personally?"

"I've already asked Gunny to get together all the paperwork I need to change my name on my military records and to apply for a new ID card," she replied. "He's also ordered a new sign for my office door. Anyway, I think 'Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Rabb' has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" She finished by flashing him a bright smile.

"No more so than 'Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie'," he pointed out with a smile, "but it's your decision. Changing your name won't change who you are."

"You know, we also talked about names for the babies," she said. "I told them about the discussion we had last night."

"And what did everyone have to say?" he asked.

"Everyone agreed that they thought we would end up going with our first choices for names," she replied, "Sarah Patricia and Harmon Matthew. There's just one thing. I mean, it's not really that big a deal; it's just interesting. Has Bud talked about his and Harriet's baby to you?"

"Well, he did make some comments this morning about not being sure how to handle a daughter," he said. "You know, about not being able to teach a daughter the same things you would teach a son, that kind of thing."

"Who says you can't do the same things with a girl that you do with a boy?" she mused. "I mean, I'm a girl and I can kickbox. I can also field strip a weapon and am an expert marksman. So what's the big deal?"

"Well, I told him that I was planning to teach both our kids to fly," Harm pointed out with a grin. "Maybe after almost a year and a half with AJ, he's just used to having a boy around."

"I guess you two could learn together," she said, laughing. "Before you know it, those girls will have their daddies wrapped around their little fingers. Anyway, Bud didn't mention anything about potential names?"

"No," Harm said. "I take it Harriet did?"

"Well," she explained, "Harriet said they thought about doing the same thing they did with AJ and naming their child after someone important to them – in this case, two someones."

"And?"

"They decided on Sarah Harmony Roberts as a name," she revealed.

"I don't know what to say," he said hesitantly. "I'm certainly honored that they would want ..." he trailed off, realizing what she was getting at. "So our daughters would have the same first name."

"Looks that way," she said. "I don't really see what the big deal would be and everyone else agreed. Sarah is a popular name – unless I can talk you out of naming our daughter Sarah." She laughed so that he would know she was teasing him. "Anyway, I didn't think it would be right to suggest that Harriet and Bud name their baby something else."

"If Bud and Harriet don't mind our babies having the same name, I don't either," he told her. "Does that mean that you've reconciled yourself to naming our daughter Sarah?"

"Well," she said, "I still think Patricia Sarah would sound just as good, but I do understand why you would want to name a daughter after your grandmother."

"I don't know what I would have done without her after my crash," he said quietly. "She really helped me pick up the pieces and move on with my life in the Navy. I can't imagine naming my little princess anything else."

"'My little princess'," Mac echoed. "Not even born and she's already Daddy's little girl."

"Actually, that would be her name," Harm explained. "Didn't you know that? Sarah means 'princess'."

"I don't know if that really applies to me," she said with a trace of sadness in her voice. "Anyway, where did you find that out?"

Harm got up from the couch and pulled a book out of the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Sitting back down, he handed the book to her.

"You've been reading a book of baby names?" she asked.

"I got this before we found out that we were going to have a boy and a girl," he explained. "In fact, I bought it before we even knew we were having two. I was having a little trouble coming up with ideas for boy's names – aside from Matthew, obviously – so I thought this would come in handy. By the way, don't sell yourself short. You're my princess."

"Flatterer," she teased, playfully swatting him with the book. She flipped through the book until she found the listing for her name. "'Sarah' comes from Hebrew and means 'a princess'. Okay, smarty, what does 'Patricia' mean?"

"As I recall," he replied, "it has something to do with nobility also. It definitely fits with 'Sarah'"

Mac found the name. "It comes from Latin and means 'of noble birth'," she read aloud. "They do fit together as names." She flipped through the book again. "Hm, 'Catherine' means 'pure'. Yeah, right. That one doesn't really apply to me."

"Sarah," he said, rubbing her back. "Don't knock yourself. That's the woman I love you're talking about."

She decided to change the subject. "So, I wonder what Harmon means?" she mused, flipping pages again.

"I wouldn't know," he said with a shrug.

"Like you didn't look it up ... here it is," she said. "From the Greek or Latin and it means 'peace'." She started laughing.

"It's not that funny," he complained.

"I wonder what the Admiral would say," she said through her laughter. "Shooting off automatic weapons in court isn't very peaceable, now is it?"

"Very funny," he deadpanned. "I looked up 'Matthew'. It means 'gift of God'."

"Yes it does," she agreed once she found it in the book. "My uncle definitely was that for me." She turned back until she found Harm's middle name. "'David' means is Hebrew for 'beloved one'. I think that definitely fits you."

"So, does this mean you're willing to go with 'Sarah Patricia'?" he asked, rubbing her swollen tummy with his free hand.

"Are you willing to go with 'Harmon Matthew'?" she countered.

"Weren't you the one who once said that one Harmon Rabb in your life was enough?" he pointed out.

"But that was Clark Palmer pretending to be you," she reminded him. "Besides, if he's anything like his daddy, I'll have my hands full with him no matter what his name is. All he'll have to do is look at me, flash that smile and I'll melt."

"Really?" he mused, pulling her across his lap. "So I make you melt?"

"You know you do," she said softly, brushing his lips with hers.

"So does this mean we can name our daughter 'Sarah'?" he repeated hopefully.

"You don't give up, do you?" she teased, playfully swatting him. "Our daughter will be Sarah if our son is Harmon. If we want to avoid confusion, we could call them by a nickname or their middle names."

"I could see us calling our son 'Matt'," he mused. "I don't know about our daughter. I'm kind of stuck on the name 'Sarah'."

"Obviously," she laughed. "When was the last time I heard you call me 'Mac'?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, shifting her in his lap so that her back was against his chest so he could massage her belly in slow circles.

"I don't think I've heard you call me 'Mac' since we've been involved," she stated, leaning back into his embrace. "You've been calling me 'Sarah' all the time."

"Have I?" he asked idly. "I hadn't thought about it. I guess it's because I see you differently now – or I admit that I see you differently now. You're not just my best friend ... is this making any sense? Do you want me to go back to calling you 'Mac?"

"It makes some sense," she replied, "and as for what you call me, I like hearing you call me 'Sarah'. I don't know, it sounds special when you say it."

"You are special, Sarah," he said earnestly, reminded of when she had been doubting her self-worth, both in the past and a few minutes earlier. "And I don't want you to forget it."

-----

TUESDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER  
1420 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Good morning, Harm," Clay said as he entered Harm's office and sat down.

"Don't you ever knock, Clay?" Harm asked, looking up from the report he was reading. "What can I do for you today?"

"'Hello, Clay. How are you doing today?'" Clay mimicked. Harm stared at him and Clay shrugged. "Actually, it's what I can do for you. Remember, I was supposed to be finding your old Academy roommate for you?"

"So, where is he?" he asked shortly.

"Geez, Rabb, what is with you today?" Clay asked, a little exasperated with his friend. Do a favor for a man ...

Harm dropped onto the desk the pen he had been fiddling with and sighed. "The attorneys are giving their opening statements in the Johns trial today," he explained.

"I'm sorry, Harm," Clay said, genuinely remorseful. "I'm surprised you're not in there."

"I can't be," he replied. "As a witness, I'm not allowed in the courtroom until they call me to the stand."

"I see," Clay said. He knew Harm was a man of action who didn't like sitting on the sidelines, waiting. He decided to change the subject back to the reason for his visit. "To answer your earlier question, Keeter is - and I don't think I have to remind you that this is classified – running air recon missions over Central America, looking for drug runners."

"Since when does Keeter do recon in drug cases?" Harm asked.

"Since we wanted someone who has worked with us before who can handle themselves if things get dicey," Clay pointed out.

"'Us' meaning the CIA," Harm said. "I don't know why Keeter keeps working for you."

The same reason you do, Harm," Clay reminded him. "He does his duty and he has a hard time staying away from the action. I haven't been in direct contact with him, but I have passed on the message that he will be pulled temporarily from his current assignment in a few weeks. We've already got someone ready to take his place while he's here."

"Thank you, Clay."

"See, that wasn't so hard, Rabb," Clay said. "I didn't tell him why he was being pulled – mission security, you know. And I thought you'd want to be the one to break the news to Keeter yourself."

"Since when is my wedding a threat to mission security?" Harm asked.

"Since no one is supposed to know Keeter is there," Clay explained patiently. "If we tell Keeter he's leaving for a wedding, the wrong people might start putting two and two together."

Harm shook his head. Sometimes, the Agency seemed a little too paranoid about security. "When is he supposed to get here?" he asked.

"I won't know for sure until I receive confirmation that he has received the message," Clay replied, standing, "but we're looking at pulling him out the weekend before. I've got a meeting at the Pentagon, so I'll see you later. Oh, and Mother said to tell you that she received the invitation and is looking forward to attending the wedding."

"We look forward to seeing both of you there," Harm said. "Thanks, Clay."

Harm watched Clay leave, a thoughtful expression on his face. He'd been turning something over in his mind for a while now, but he wasn't sure how Mac was going to feel about it. It couldn't hurt to look into it, he decided, picking up his phone.

"Gunny, can you come in here for a moment?" he asked, then hung up the phone.

A few seconds later, Gunny was standing just inside his doorway at attention. "You wanted to see me, Sir?" he asked.

"Take a seat, Gunny," he said. "I need a personal favor. I need you to get some information on this person." He wrote out some information on a piece of paper and handed it to Gunny. "And don't say anything to the Colonel. I'm not sure if I'm going to contact this person. I'd just like to know how to get in touch if I decide to."

Gunny looked down at the name on the paper and nodded. "Do you have any other information for me, Sir?" he asked. "Last known location, anything like that?"

"Not really," Harm admitted. "All I know that she was at her ex-husband's deathbed in California in the spring of 1999, which was the first time the Colonel had contact with this person since she was fifteen. I wrote down her husband's name, date and location of death. Maybe you can trace where she went from there. I'm sorry I don't have more for you, but the Colonel doesn't really know much, either."

"I'll get on this as soon as possible," Gunny said.

"Thank you, Gunny," Harm replied. "Dismissed."

After Gunny left the office, Harm turned in his chair to look out the window. He hoped he was making the right decision. He still wasn't sure that he was going to contact her, especially if it was going to upset Mac. But maybe with her talk of new beginnings, maybe Mac would be willing to see her mother again.

-----

1625 ZULU

"Hello, Colonel," Jon Williams greeted Mac as he and Allison entered the JAG kitchen after court broke for lunch.

"Commander, Major," Mac returned, stirring her tea idly. "How is the trial going so far?"

"It's going very well, Colonel," Allison replied confidently as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "As I'm sure you're aware, the defense is going for the temporary insanity angle, but given this man's history, it will be a tough sell with the jury."

"I suppose," Mac said idly, her mind not really on the conversation. She was just ready for it all to be over.

"Well, I'll see you back in court, Commander," Jon said. "Colonel, it was good to see you again." He nodded towards Mac as he left the kitchen.

"I really need to go, too," Mac said, picking up her mug of tea and turning to leave the kitchen.

"You don't like me much, do you, Colonel?" Allison suggested calmly, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Whether I like you or not is irrelevant," Mac pointed out just as calmly, determined that she wasn't going to let Allison get to her. "You're not here to be liked, you're here to prosecute Sergeant Johns."

"Touché," Allison said. "But you would rather have someone else prosecuting this case."

"That's not true," Mac said. "From what Harm tells me, you're one of the best prosecutors in the Navy and this is a high profile case. It makes sense that the Navy would assign its best to this case."

"I wonder what else Harm has told you about me," Allison mused with a smile.

"I don't really think JAG headquarters is the place for this discussion," Mac pointed out.

"No, you're right," Allison agreed. "Especially since what was between Harm and me went beyond work."

Mac was silent, realizing that Allison was trying to get to her. She knew there had never been anything more than work between Harm and Allison. "Good luck in court, Commander," Mac said as she left the kitchen.

In the hallway, Mac nearly bumped into AJ just outside he kitchen. "Sorry, Sir," she apologized. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That alright, Colonel," AJ said. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Wondering if he had heard the conversation in the kitchen, Mac followed him to the elevator. Both officers were silent until they were outside the building. AJ began walking around the grounds and Mac followed.

"How is everything, Mac?" AJ asked.

"Fine, Sir," she replied carefully. She was on guard at his use of her name. It was rare for the Admiral to discuss personal business at work. "The trial started today, so I guess I am a little concerned about that, plus things are a little hectic with all the wedding preparations right now. But I'm okay."

"Mac, I'm saying this as your friend and not your commanding officer," AJ assured her. "If there was a problem, you would let me know, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, Sir," she agreed, trying to keep the reluctance out of her voice. "I would let you know if there was something to be concerned about."

"Sometimes," AJ continued, "people think that because I am in command, I don't see some of the things that are going on with the people below me. But I see more than people think I do."

"Sir, I don't know ..." Mac began.

"Let me finish, Mac," AJ interrupted. "People usually don't think that a two-star Admiral would, for instance, notice that two of his people spent four years fighting their feelings for each other. Or that the tension between two officers who used to work together has less to do with work than other things. Just because I'm an Admiral doesn't mean I don't notice things or hear the scuttlebutt."

"Of course not, Sir," she agreed, beginning to see where he was headed.

"Sometimes a commander has to walk a fine line," he explained. "For instance, an incident might appear to one person to be harassment, but the person actually involved in the situation might not see it that way, or they might think they can handle the situation on their own without getting anyone else involved."

"I suppose so, Sir," she said noncommittally.

"As a commander," he continued, "I have to decide whether this is a situation I need to get involved in or do I trust my officers to tell me they are being harassed."

"I can see how that would be a tough decision to make," she replied softly.

AJ stopped and looked her in the eye as he added, "Mac, the day the prosecutors arrived, I thought I saw something in your eyes when I suggested that Harm might appreciate a heads up on their presence. I didn't think it was my place to say more, especially since I didn't know how much you knew. The other day, when you two made your announcement about the babies, I saw that someone was less than thrilled about your news. And word at the softball game was that Harm was a little tense when a certain name was mentioned. When I thought back to some things I noticed four years ago ..."

"Sir, we are handling it," she said, deciding not to pretend that she didn't know what he was talking about. "Harm has explained everything that did – and didn't – happen four years ago. She's only going to be here for this trial then she's gone. We'll get through it."

"I'm sure you will, Mac," he agreed, "but I don't want you taking on more than you should. If something happens, I want you to know that you can come to me. Especially if you feel she is harassing you or Harm."

"Sir, I hope it will not come to that," she said.

-----

2205 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"You told him about Krennick?" Harm asked, incredulous. She had filled him in on her conversation with AJ on the drive home from work.

"No, I didn't," Mac insisted as she unbuttoned her uniform blouse. "He figured it out, he said. According to him, he noticed some things both four years ago and since she has been here this time and put two and two together. Anyway, Krennick is sinking herself. She is the one who approached me at lunch today, suggesting that I didn't like her because you two once shared something that went beyond work. The Admiral overheard and that's why he approached me."

Harm shook his head as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He was silent as he began removing his own uniform blouse, carefully laying it on the bed. Mac watched him out of the corner of her eye as she picked up his blouse and carefully hung it in the closet.

"Harm, talk to me," she pleaded. "Are you mad because I had this discussion with the Admiral? He approached me. Anyway, I thought you were the one who said you were going to go to him if she didn't back off."

"I'm not mad," he insisted, with a hint of frustration in his voice. "I was just hoping that it wouldn't come to this. You don't need the added stress right now."

"I know that," she said, pulling a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of the dresser after hanging her own uniform in the closet. "I'm the one who is pregnant. I'm the one who got shot. But you know what? This isn't just about me. You don't need the stress either. You are the one she was harassing four years ago. And Krennick doesn't strike me as the type to readily take 'no' for an answer."

"I'm fine," he said, standing to remove his uniform pants. "You're the one I'm worried about. On top of everything else, you'll be testifying in the Johns trial in a few days."

"I know," she said quietly as she sat down on the bed, watching as he changed clothes. "Major Williams said that they're planning to put me on last, for the emotional impact. Not that I can tell them much that the rest of you can't. But the pregnant victim testifying is sure to impact the jury."

"I spoke with Williams today, also," Harm told her, taking one of her hands in his as he sat back down. "I'm going on right before you. At least, since I will have already testified, I'll get to be in the courtroom when you take the stand."

"I'm glad," she said simply, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "I just wish this was all over. I wish the wedding was over and that we could settle down and get on with our lives." She paused, then added, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded, about the wedding being over. I just ..."

"I know what you meant," he said, looking at her with concern. "There's a lot going on right now." He had been debating whether or not to mention that he was trying to track down her mother, but decided that he should wait at least until after they testified at the trial. She didn't need even more stress. But he did have an idea or two about trying to ease some of the stress. He'd have to work on that one tomorrow.

Mac noticed his concern and the fact that he had managed to change the subject away from Krennick and her harassment. But how could they get through everything that was going on without something blowing up in their faces?

-----

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

FRIDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER  
1405 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Colonel, do you have a few minutes?" Carolyn asked, standing in Mac's open doorway.

Mac looked up from the report she was only pretending to read and motioned Carolyn into her office. "Take a seat, Commander."

Carolyn looked at her friend as Mac tossed the report to the side. Mac avoided looking at Carolyn, instead turning in her chair slightly to look out the window. After a long moment, Carolyn finally said, "I thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing, see if you wanted some company while you wait ..."

"Harm's on the stand now," Mac softly interrupted. It wasn't a question.

Carolyn nodded, then spoke when it occurred to her that Mac still wasn't looking at her. "He was called to the stand when I stepped down," she said.

"And then I'm next," Mac said as she finally turned back to face Carolyn. Carolyn could see the tears threatening to spill from Mac's eyes. "It's funny, isn't it? It's been a month as of yesterday. So why is it just now hitting me so hard?"

"I don't know," Carolyn replied. "Maybe there was just so much happening then that we didn't have time to think about it. Now we have to talk about it and maybe it's just ... I don't know. When it happened and Harm turned you over and we realized that you had been shot, it was like we were all on autopilot. Maybe we've been like that ever since. But stress has to relieve itself and maybe the trial is giving us the opportunity ..." Carolyn trailed off when she realized that instead of crying, Mac was laughing.

Mac felt Carolyn's eyes on her and turned towards her to explain, "I'm sorry. It's just that Harm once said that very same thing to me."

Carolyn sensed there was a story behind that and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" Maybe it would help Mac to think about something else, even if only for a few minutes.

"What? The trial or when Harm said that to me?" she asked.

"When Harm said that to you," Carolyn clarified. "Knowing you two, there's a very interesting story behind that statement."

"I don't know if I'd call it interesting," Mac said. "Terrifying is more like it."

Instantly, Carolyn regretted pressing the issue. "Look, I'm sorry I brought it up," she apologized. "If you don't want to talk about it ..."

"No, it's okay," Mac reassured her. "It was years ago, not long after we met, and I've long since dealt with what happened. Harm talked me into taking a day's leave so that he could take me up in his plane. I was having so much fun, then we developed mechanical problems and had to make an emergency landing in the Appalachian mountains. From the air, we had seen a cabin a few miles from where we had landed, so we decided to hike to it and see if they had a phone we could use to call for help." Mac paused, remembering that day so clearly. That was also the day that she admitted to herself that she had fallen for her partner.

"Doesn't sound too bad so far," Carolyn commented.

"Unfortunately," Mac continued, "the cabin was inhabited by poachers who had just killed a game warden. What we realized later is that when we arrived at the cabin they were burying the game warden out back of the cabin. Harm asked too many questions and one of the men started shooting at us. We managed to hold them off for a few minutes, but while Harm was swiping a fuel line from the game warden's truck so that he could fix the plane, one of the poachers got off a lucky shot and I got hit in the leg."

"I've never heard this story," Carolyn said, surprised. "I mean, the other day you said something had happened the first time Harm took you flying, but I didn't think to ask more. Now I understand why you wanted weapons on your next flight."

"Like I said, it was just a few months after we met," Mac said. "You were still overseas at the time. Anyway, we managed to escape with Harm practically dragging me along. But they were tracking us and when Harm left me for a few minutes to misdirect them, one of them found me." Mac fell silent and Carolyn could just imagine what had happened when the man had found her.

After a long moment, Mac continued, "Before he could ... um, he had a knife and I managed to ... I stabbed him with his own knife."

"Look, Mac, you don't have to talk about this," Carolyn said. "I'm sorry I brought it up. I just came in here because I thought you might want some company while you were waiting to take the stand."

"It's okay, really," Mac said, holding her hand up when Carolyn opened her mouth to protest. "It does help to think about something else, even this. Anyway, later that evening, after we had found shelter for the night, I ... well, I pretty much freaked for a few minutes over what had happened. I still had his blood on me and the sight of it got to me. Harm just sat there and let it run its course. Then he reassured me that what I was feeling was natural. That's when he made that comment about stress relieving itself."

"He really is something, isn't he?" Carolyn mused, smiling.

Mac smiled as she replied softly, "Yeah, he is. So, we made it back to the plane the next day. Harm fixed it and we took off. My leg had gotten infected, so I had to spend a few days in the hospital. He spent most of his time at my bedside. I recovered and life went on as before."

"You know, you two never cease to amaze me," Carolyn commented, shaking her head. "After all that, it still took you another three and a half years to admit your feelings for each other."

Mac laughed at that. It wasn't the first time she had heard something along those lines from one of her friends. Hell, she had thought the same thing many times herself. "What can I say?" she replied, still laughing. "For two very intelligent people, we could be pretty dumb about the things that really mattered. I once told Harm that all I really wanted in life was a great career, a good man and lots of comfortable shoes."

"I don't know about the comfortable shoes," Carolyn said with a smile, "but I'd say you've got the first two covered."

"Ask me again about the shoes after the babies are born," Mac said. "Right now, walking around in my bare feet is uncomfortable."

"So what is it like, being pregnant?" Carolyn asked wistfully, a faraway expression in her eyes. "Remember that lunch we had with Harriet, right before AJ was born? Ever since that day, I've wondered what it would be like to have a baby."

"At least you didn't want a baby so much that you made a deal with your best friend to have one together in five years if neither of you was involved in a relationship," Mac pointed out. She laughed at the wide-eyed expression of shock on Carolyn's face.

"You and Harm ..." Carolyn began. "You won't admit you're in love with each other, but you'll agree to have a baby together! I can't believe you two. And a few months later, you're accepting a ring from another man. If I were you, I would have made it a point to stay single for the next five years."

"Believe me, that thought had crossed my mind," Mac admitted, "but then he returned to flying and nothing was the same after he returned. Then Australia happened and ..." Mac trailed off, staring off into the distance as she remembered the pain of one particular night. Slowly, she continued, "I opened up to Harm about what I was feeling for him and let's just say that I couldn't have picked a worse time. Harm had been back for months but he was still trying to find his way. He wasn't ready to be in a relationship – well, a serious one, anyway. I didn't understand that at the time, even when he told me so."

"So that's why you accepted Commander Brumby's ring," Carolyn concluded. "You thought Harm had rejected you and when someone else offered you everything you wanted ..."

"Yeah," Mac replied sadly. "I'm not even sure why I'm telling you all this. A lot of this I've never told another soul except Harm, although I think Harm told my uncle about what happened in Australia when he asked Uncle Matt for permission to marry me."

"He asked for permission to marry you?" Carolyn mused. "Too bad he doesn't have a brother. Anyway, I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share this with me. I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances, especially since I wasn't doing the best job of defending Harm against murder charges at the time."

"Water under the bridge," Mac assured her. "I've always been so focused on my career since I joined the Corps, trying to make up for past mistakes, that I've never really allowed myself the chance to make many friends until someone whom I'd just met put himself, his career, and even his life on the line for me and my uncle."

"I guess I don't have to ask who that is," Carolyn said.

"No, I guess you don't," Mac said with a wide smile. "You know, he can be so infuriating sometimes. He can be so smug and arrogant and egotistical that I sometimes just want to throttle him. But under all that, he is the kindest, most compassionate, most considerate man I've ever met. He's the best friend I've ever had. I think becoming friends with him has allowed me to open myself up. I think I've made more friends since I've been here at JAG headquarters than I've had in my entire life and I'm glad to count you among them, especially since you have managed to distract me from what's going on in that courtroom across the hall."

"Thank you, Mac and I'm glad I could help," Carolyn told her. She noticed that Mac was no longer paying attention to her, staring instead at the doorway. Carolyn turned to find Harm standing there.

"It's time?" Mac asked quietly.

Harm nodded slowly in response. "Court's in recess for five minutes, then you're up."

"Well, here goes nothing," Mac muttered as she slowly rose to leave. As she passed by him in the doorway, Harm reached out to take her hand.

"It will be okay, Sarah," he said softly as he turned with her to walk towards the courtroom, Carolyn standing up to walk behind them.

"I'll be fine," Mac assured him. She turned her head to look at Carolyn. "You're coming to the courtroom?"

"Remember what we were just talking about?" Carolyn asked. "That's what friends do. Anyway, I didn't think I'd get much work done today, so I stayed late last night to stay caught up. I don't think the Admiral will have a problem with it."

"Thank you," Mac said, smiling at her. As they entered the courtroom, Mac was a bit surprised to find quite a few of the people who had been in the hallway on the day of the shooting, including Alan and Captain Sebring. Sitting next to Sebring were Admiral Chegwidden and Gunny, both of whom smiled at Mac in encouragement as she, Harm, and Carolyn slid into the bench in front of them, Mac on the end so that she could get up to take the stand.

As soon as she had sat down, the judge – Admiral Lefner, who had been brought in from outside the Washington area specifically for this trial - entered the courtroom and everyone stood. As everyone took their seats again, Allison remained standing and said, "Your Honor, the prosecution calls Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie to the stand."

Mac stood and looked down at Harm for a moment before she walked up to stand in front of the bench. Allison came over to stand in front of her.

"Raise your right hand," Allison said. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do," Mac replied. She took the stand, taking a deep breath as she waited for Allison to begin.

"Please state your name and billet for the record," Allison said.

I can do this, Mac told herself. She kept repeating it to herself in her mind as she said automatically, "Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie. I'm Chief of Staff here at JAG headquarters."

"Colonel, at the beginning of August," Allison began, standing in front of the witness stand, "you and your partner, Commander Rabb, were prosecuting a murder case. Can you tell us about that?"

"Marine Sergeant Johns was on trial for allegedly beating someone to death at a bar while off duty," Mac replied, her voice sure and steady. "Commander Rabb and I were prosecuting, Commanders Imes and Mattoni were defending."

"Was there any talk of a plea bargain in the case, Colonel?" Allison asked.

"While I was in Quantico on an investigation the week before the trail began," Mac continued, "Harm – Commander Rabb and I spoke on the phone Thursday night. We decided that he would present an offer of manslaughter with fifteen years in Leavenworth to the defense."

"And was the plea bargain accepted by the defense?"

"No," Mac answered. "Commander Imes approached me the following Monday morning. She said that Sergeant Johns wanted to take his chances with a trial."

"When did the trial begin?" Allison asked.

Mac took a deep breath before replying, "It began that morning, 7 August."

"What happened in court that morning?"

"We called a total of six witnesses that morning," Mac said, forcing herself not to fidget as they got closer to the account of the actual shooting, "the owner of the bar and five people who had been in the bar that night. They all testified to what they had seen the night of the beating."

"And what was that, Colonel?" Allison asked.

The defense attorney spoke for the first time since Mac had taken the stand. "Objection, your honor. Hearsay."

Mac was surprised. The same questions, she imagined, would have been asked when Harm, Alan and Carolyn were on the stand. Surely the defense attorney hadn't objected all four times. 

"Sir, the transcript from Sergeant Johns' first trial has been entered into evidence," Allison reminded the judge. "It also goes to pattern of behavior."

"Overruled," Lefner ruled, throwing the defense attorney a stern look.

Mac didn't wait for Allison to repeat the question before she answered, "They all testified essentially the same. The defendant had been upset over not being on the latest promotion list, he had a few drinks and picked a fight, during which the victim was beaten to death."

"Were there any discussions about the case after court recessed for lunch?" Allison asked.

"I suggested that maybe Commanders Imes and Mattoni might want to approach their client again about a plea bargain, given that morning's testimony," Mac said.

"Did the Commanders approach Sergeant Johns about the plea agreement?"

"They never had the chance," Mac said, taking another deep breath, needing something to calm her nerves. "Right after that, two Marine guards were escorting Sergeant Johns to lunch when the defendant made a comment about the prosecution playing 'Let's Make A Deal'."

"What else did Sergeant Johns say?"

"He made a comment about Commanders Imes and Mattoni being his defense attorneys, so he expected them to defend him," Mac recounted. "Then he said something about being dismissed after Commander Mattoni had suggested to the guards that they get Johns out of there and he took a step towards us – Commanders Rabb, Imes, Mattoni and myself. At this point, Judge Sebring walked up and ordered the guards to get Sergeant Johns out of there."

"Take you time, Colonel," Allison said, walking over to stand in front of the jury, "and tell us what happened next."

Mac looked out over the courtroom and found Harm's eyes on her. He smiled at her in encouragement. Taking a deep breath, she continued her account, "Sergeant Johns pushed one of the guards aside and grabbed his weapon. I didn't really see what happened next. Commander Rabb pushed me to the floor." Mac paused a moment to collect herself, then added, "I didn't even realize that I had been shot until after it was all over."

"Please continue," Allison encouraged.

"After the shooting stopped," Mac said, a slight catch in her voice, "I realized that I was having trouble breathing. Harm rolled me over and I don't remember much after that. I was kind of drifting in and out of it. I recall telling him that I was having trouble breathing. I think Commander Mattoni gave Harm his uniform blouse to press against the wound. I don't remember much after that until I woke up that evening at Bethesda."

"Can you describe your injuries for the court?"

"The bullet entered, um, just above my right breast," Mac said, her voice faltering slightly. "It collapsed my right lung and broke one of my ribs. In the emergency room, they put in a chest tube and I was on a ventilator for two days."

"How long were you in the hospital, Colonel?"

"Seven days," Mac answered. "I was released the following Monday."

"Your lung wasn't your only medical concern, was is, Colonel?" Allison asked. "You're obviously pregnant. How far along are you?"

"Four months."

"So you would have been three months pregnant at the time of the shooting, correct?"

"That is correct," Mac said, her voice shaking. She glanced at Harm again, who nodded his encouragement. "I was kept hooked up to a fetal heart monitor for two days and I had an ultrasound that Wednesday to make sure there were no obvious problems. Also, to make sure there were no adverse affects from the various medications I was given and from the anesthesia I was given during surgery, I had an amniocentesis two weeks after the shooting."

"And were there any problems with the pregnancy?" Allison asked.

"Fortunately, no," Mac replied, clasping her hands over her belly. "Dr. Calder, my obstetrician, said that everything is going very well, considering everything that has happened."

"Thank you, Colonel. I know this has been difficult for you," Allison said. She turned to address the judge. "I have nothing further."

Mac took a few deep breaths as she waited for the defense attorney, Daniel Bowers, to begin. She was a little surprised at Allison' last comments; Mac thought she actually sounded sincere. She supposed it would play well for the jury, the prosecutor who showed concern for the victims. She looked at the defense attorney as he stood and walked towards her.

"Good morning, Colonel Mackenzie," Bowers greeted her cordially. "I don't have many questions for you, so I'll try to make this as quick as possible. Tell me, Colonel, if your case was as strong as you indicate, why were you trying to push a plea bargain?"

"To save the victim's family the pain of going through a trial," Mac replied firmly, more settled now that talk had moved away from personal matters such as her injury and pregnancy. "Also, the Navy would be spared the expense of a trial and Sergeant Johns would still go away to prison for a long time."

"Colonel, I believe that you're actually pregnant with twins. Such a pregnancy would normally be considered high-risk, would it not?"

"Objection, Your Honor," Allison cut in. "Relevance?"

"Your Honor, the prosecution opened itself up for this line of questioning by suggesting that there was concern about the pregnancy because of the shooting. I think I should be able to show that those concerns existed prior to incident of August 7th," Bowers argued.

"Overruled," Lefner ruled. "But I would wrap up this line of questioning as quickly as possible, Mr. Bowers."

"Understood, Your Honor," he replied as he turned back to face Mac. "Your pregnancy would normally be considered high-risk, correct?"

"Yes, it would," Mac answered, a bit angry as she realized where he was going with that line of questioning. "But I wasn't even aware that I was carrying twins until I had the ultrasound two days after the shooting."

Bowers paused for a split second, surprised. He hadn't been aware of that last part. But he decided to persist in this line of questioning just a little bit longer. "But the fetal heart monitor, the ultrasound, the amniocentesis – all of these would probably have been used in any event to detect problems in a twin pregnancy."

"I wouldn't really know," Mac answered firmly. "This is my first pregnancy. I'm new to all this."

"But it is possible that many of the concerns about your pregnancy would have existed whether you had been shot or not?" Bowers persisted.

"Objection, Your Honor," Allison called out. "Witness is being asked to state a medical opinion which she is not qualified to give."

"Sustained," Lefner ruled.

Bowers, satisfied that he had at least made his point, returned to the defense table. "I have nothing further," he said.

Allison stood again and said, "Your honor, I have just a few questions on redirect." When the judge nodded at her to proceed, Allison walked over to the witness stand and asked, "Colonel, had you discussed any type of special diagnostic tests, such as amniocentesis, with your doctor prior to the shooting?"

"I had asked about it at my first appointment," Mac replied. "I was curious since, as I said before, this is my first pregnancy. She said that unless there was something in either Harm's or my genetic history that would be cause for concern or I was over the age of thirty-five, an amniocentesis wouldn't even be considered."

"And do any of these situations exist in your case?" Allison continued.

"No. I just turned thirty-two in July and as far as we know, there is nothing genetic in either of our backgrounds that could possibly be passed on to our children," Mac said.

"Did your doctor give a reason for going ahead with an amniocentesis given these circumstances?"

Mac answered, "As I said earlier, I was told that it was because of the various medications and the anesthesia I was given while I was hospitalized. Even though they were approved as safe for use on pregnant woman, I was told there was still a concern that the medications could cause problems, especially at that point in the pregnancy."

"Thank you, Colonel," Allison told her. She turned to the judge and added, "The prosecution rests, Your Honor."

"Very well," Lefner said. "Court will recess for lunch until 1300 hours, when the defense will call its first witness." He banged his gavel and everyone rose until the judge had left the courtroom.

As Mac stepped down from the stand, Allison and Jon approached her. "You did a good job up there, Colonel," Allison complimented her as Mac managed to keep the surprise from her expression. "We've got a strong case and Mr. Bowers realizes that."

"He did sound like he was grasping a bit in some of his questions," Mac suggested as Harm joined them, putting a hand on her back in comfort and support.

"His client shot six people in a crowded hallway of witnesses," Jon pointed out. "He never had much of a case to begin with. It's only his client's insistence that this go to trial that brings us all here."

"As I recall," Mac reminded them, "that's what got all this started at the first trial."

"Unfortunately true," Allison agreed as AJ joined them. "That's why the sergeant is in chains this time."

"Commander Krennick, Major Williams, good job," AJ told them. He turned to Mac and asked, "How are you doing, Colonel?"

"I'm just glad that's over," Mac replied. "I'm ready to put all of this behind us."

"We all are," Harm agreed quietly.

"By the way, Commander Rabb," AJ said, "I've approved your request for leave the beginning of next week. I'll see you back here on Wednesday."

Mac looked up at Harm in surprise. "Planning to do something?" she asked.

"When the Admiral said 'your request for leave', he was talking about both of us," he told her.

"I don't remember putting in a request for leave," she pointed out.

"We're going out of town after the dress fitting Saturday morning," Harm said. "And before you ask, the 'where' is a surprise. You ready to go to lunch?"

"Definitely," Mac replied, determined to discuss it further with Harm at lunch. They left the courtroom, leaving AJ, Allison and Jon standing there.

"Commander," Jon addressed Allison, "if you don't need me for anything right now, I'll go get some lunch also."

"Go ahead, Major," she replied. "I'll be going to lunch myself in a few minutes."

Jon left and Allison was left alone with AJ. "The case is going well," AJ told her. "This has been a particularly hard one for this office and I appreciate how quickly this case is being handled."

"Thank you, Admiral," Allison replied as she put papers and files into her briefcase. "I was happy to come out here and take on this case. It's been a pleasure working for you again."

"You're one of the best prosecutors I've got, Allison," he said. "I wanted the best on this case."

"Well, I appreciate it," she said. "As much as I enjoy my job out at Pearl, I do miss this place sometimes."

"I see," AJ said, folding his arms across his chest. "I do have some news for you. As I'm sure you're aware, the promotion list for Captain will be out next week."

"I'm on it," Allison stated.

"Confident, aren't we, Commander?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Hmmm," he murmured. "Well, as I'm sure you are also aware, Captain Johnston is planning to retire next month."

"Yes, Sir," she replied. The retirement of her CO was old news to her as he had exhibited a bit of a short timer's attitude in recent weeks. In fact, she had been hoping that her expected promotion would give her a leg up on being named to replace Johnston.

"Allison, it's no secret that I've always thought highly of the work you've done for JAG, here at headquarters, before that in Italy and now at Pearl," AJ complimented her. "So I've put in a request with the Bureau of Personnel that you be assigned to replace Captain Johnston."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Admiral," she said, containing her enthusiasm.

"Do you have anyone in mind to take your place as XO?" AJ asked. He had a few candidates in mind, but he was curious to find out what she thought.

"I actually did have one person in mind, but I don't suppose this person would be available," she began. "I think the administrative experience would be good for him, especially if he has any ambitions to eventually be the JAG."

AJ knew who she was talking about, but he wanted her to confirm it. "And who would that be, Commander?"

Allison noted that he had suddenly switched to calling her by her rank and wondered at the change. "Commander Rabb, of course," she replied. "He's one of the best litigators that I've seen, but he hasn't had much experience on the administrative side of JAG, experience that he would need if he eventually wants to be the JAG."

"That is true," AJ admitted. Allison never ceased to amaze him. He knew that her reasons for wanting Harm transferred to Pearl were less than professional, but she managed to make her reasons sound professional and logical. "But on the other hand, Commander Rabb will be starting a new position as military liaison on the Hill in a few weeks and that experience will also be helpful for his future. Unfortunately, dealing with politicos is a part of being the JAG and I think the Commander will be well served by his time on the Hill. Also, you do not have two O-5 level positions available. Even if you did, I would hate to lose both of my best attorneys, especially at the same time."

"As I said, I didn't think he would be available," Allison reminded him. She could be a realist when she had to be. "I have been looking at a few other candidates and I would appreciate the chance to discuss it further with you. Perhaps we could sit down after the trial is over and before I return to Pearl."

"We'll have to see if there is time when the trial is over," AJ said noncommittally. "After all, you are probably missed at Pearl."

-----

"So what is this about getting out of town for a few days?" Mac asked. She and Harm had grabbed some lunch from the cafeteria and had taken it outside to one of the table. Mac had chosen a table away from the entrance to the building, where most people sat, so that she and Harm could have a few moments alone.

"With everything going on right now, I thought we could use the break," Harm replied, "so I made arrangements for us to get away for a few days."

"Without discussing it with me?" she continued.

"Is that a problem?" he asked, a bit puzzled. "I thought it would be nice to do something for you."

"It is, it's just ..." she began, pausing to collect her thoughts. It was very sweet of him, so she didn't want this to degenerate into an argument. "I just think you should have discussed it with me before you went to the Admiral and asked for time off for both of us. Anyway, is this really the right time to take a few days off given that we will be taking two weeks off in the near future for our honeymoon?"

"The Admiral doesn't seem to have a problem with it," he pointed out. "In fact, when I first brought up the subject, he seemed to think it was a pretty good idea. Anyway, I wanted to surprise you with this. Is that so bad?"

Mac sighed, taking a sip of her water while she gathered her thoughts. "No, I think it's wonderful that you wanted to surprise me," she finally said. "And it still is a surprise to a degree, since you won't tell me where we are going. But this is supposed to be a partnership and I still think you should have run the idea past me before going to the Admiral. How do you know that I didn't already have plans for this weekend?"

"Plans that you hadn't run by me yet?" Harm questioned, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Touché," she admitted, smiling. "Now, I know you don't like to be reminded of Australia, but remember Manly Beach, when I told Mic not to assume?"

"Okay, point taken," he said, "and I'm sorry. Look, if you really want, I can cancel the reservations and tell the Admiral that we will be in on Monday."

"No," Mac said, shaking her head. "You went through all this trouble, so we might as well go. I'm sure that we'll have a wonderful time alone together for a few days. We haven't really had that since we've been together. Now, is there anything that you will tell me about this mysterious trip you've planned?"

"Well, consider it a mini-honeymoon of sorts," he replied, relieved that she didn't seem to be angry at him.

"Which doesn't tell me a lot since you won't tell me where we're going for our honeymoon either," she pointed out with a laugh. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

Harm was quiet for a moment, staring down at the salad in front of him. "I don't know," he said quietly, finally looking up, but focusing on a point just over her shoulder, refusing to look her in the eye. "Maybe I feel that I have a lot to make up for."

Mac cupped his chin and turned his head so that he had to look at her. She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Hey, if I'm no longer beating you up over Australia," she teased, "why should you still beat yourself up? I thought we had put that behind us."

"Yes – I guess, maybe," he replied softly, realizing that he wasn't making much sense. "Maybe it will be a while before I can forgive myself for letting my stupidity and my inability to communicate nearly cost me the most important person in my life."

"I never realized that you still felt like that," she said, reaching across the table to cover his hand with hers.

"It's not the easiest thing in the world to talk about," he admitted, taking her hand in his. "I'm not very good at talking about my feelings." He gave her a smile as he added, "I would have thought you would have figured that out after Australia."

"Do you want to try and talk about it?" she asked. She noticed the brief flash of hesitation in his eyes and rushed to assure him, "I don't mean now. This is hardly the appropriate venue for this discussion. But maybe we can take some time this weekend. I don't want the specter of Australia to still be hanging over us as we begin our married life."

"I don't know," he said reluctantly. "I'll try. I know that's probably not what you want to hear, but I think that's the best I can do."

Mac nodded slowly. She didn't want to push him too far. "I can accept that," she replied softly.

-----

SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER  
2105 ZULU  
THE GARDEN AND THE SEA INN  
NEW CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Okay, so tell me again why we had to drive through DC, Maryland, Delaware, then Maryland again only to end up back in Virginia, which is where we started out?" Mac teased as they got out of the SUV in front of the two-centuries-old inn. She knew they were somewhere in the Eastern Shore region, but she wasn't that familiar with this part of the state. But seeing the outside of the inn Harm had chosen for their getaway, she was liking this idea more and more. If he chose this romantic little inn for a 'mini honeymoon', she couldn't wait to see what he had in mind for the real thing.

"Because it takes about an hour less going that way than it would have going down to Norfolk then across the Chesapeake on the Bay Bridge Tunnel to the Eastern Shore," Harm told her as he got their bags out of the back of the car. "I didn't think you'd want to be stuck in the car any longer than necessary.."

"I appreciate that," Mac said with a smile, "especially since I made you stop twice on the trip as it is. Long car rides are hard on the pregnant body."

Harm looked at her with concern as he closed the rear door of the SUV and slung their bag over his shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't even think about that when I planned ..."

"Harm, I'm fine," Mac tried to reassure him. "Stopping and getting out of the car those times helped and right now a bed will be an even bigger help. My back can use the break."

"I think I can help out with the back problem. How does a massage sound?"

"Sounds heavenly," she replied, stifling a yawn.

"Sounds like a nap would go over just as well," he commented with a smile as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Probably would," she admitted with a sigh.

"The next few days are about relaxing and getting away from it all," he told her as they entered the inn. "If that means you spend most of the next few days lying around getting plenty of sleep, well then ..."

"Now," she interrupted with a laugh, "I hope we didn't just drive three and a half hours and spend the money to rent a room at this bed and breakfast just so we could spend all our time in bed ... well, what I mean is ..."

"You have an objection to spending a few days in bed together?" he asked her softly, his breath warm against her ear as they walked across the lobby.

"Very funny," she retorted just as softly. "You know what I mean. If it was just a matter of taking a few days off, we could have done that at home."

"Which would defeat the purpose of getting away from it all," he pointed out. "Remember, this something of a mini honeymoon before the wedding."

They reached the front desk and Harm said to the clerk, "We have a reservation, last name Rabb."

"Here it is," the clerk said, pulling the reservation sheet from a file. "You have the Chablis suite for three nights."

"Ooh, sounds fancy," Mac commented as Harm handed his credit card to the clerk.

"It's our best suite," the clerk told her as she processed the credit card. "Checkout is Tuesday at noon. We have a restaurant, but we do require reservations since it is very popular with the general public. In your room, you'll find a packet with information on the local attractions. Do you want the phone in your room turned on?"

"No," Harm answered. "If anyone needs to reach us, I gave our CO – sorry, our boss - the main number here so he can leave a message for us. Other than that, if we need to make a call, we have a calling card or can use a payphone."

"Okay," the clerk said, placing a paper on the counter in front of him. "If you'll just sign here, you'll be good to go."

Harm signed his name to the registration form and handed it back to the clerk. She handed him their room key and said, "Your room is in the other building. If you go out the side door over there and follow the foot path, it will take you to your building. Right in front of you when you reach the building will a door. This door is the private entrance to your suite and you'll need your key to unlock it. Then you'll have to climb a staircase to the suite. If you need anything, just dial 100 to reach the front desk."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Harm replied.

-----

"Wow," Mac exclaimed as they entered the suite. "You really know how to show a girl a good time. This is beautiful." The suite had a vaulted ceiling and the large main room was dominated by a king size iron wrap bed with a cream colored comforter with a rose pattern. The wallpaper was also in a soothing cream with a border at the top of roses. One door in the room led to a separate sitting area with a sofa, television and a fridge.

Nice if they decided not to leave the room, Mac thought as she wandered around the suite while Harm unpacked their bags. They could just stock the fridge and close themselves off from the rest of the world for a few days.

Another door lead to a very large bathroom with a whirlpool tub more than large enough for two and a separate shower. She smiled as she imagined the things she and Harm could do in that room.

She wandered back into the main room and opened the sliding door leading to the screened deck. Even as far away as they were from the beach – looking at the map earlier, Mac had estimated they were about 10 minutes away – she could still feel the cool breeze coming off the ocean and she thought she detected a bit of the smell of the salty sea air.

Mac smiled and leaned back into his embrace as Harm came out onto the deck and wrapped his arms around her from behind. They both stared out over the beautiful gardens below for a few moments, content just to be with each other in the romantic setting.

Sighing, Mac finally broke the silence. "How did you find this place?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. She didn't think she wanted to know if he'd brought past girlfriends to this beautiful place.

Harm smiled above her head. He could just imagine what she was thinking. "Actually, Bud found it for me," he told her, imagining the relief on her face that he'd never been here before with another woman. "I wanted someplace near a beach, so I got Bud to help me do a search on the internet for bed and breakfasts on the coast. We looked at several sites before we found one for this place. When I saw the pictures, I knew this was the perfect for our first trip alone together."

Mac, relieved that Harm had never been here before with another woman, was touched that he would make the extra effort to find someplace special for them. "You know," she admitted, "I never thought of that. This is our first trip alone together. It wasn't long after we first got together that Chloe came to stay with us. We went up to visit your grandmother, but we hardly had any time alone with the whole family there. Then we found out I was pregnant and between that and work, we haven't really had any time to ourselves, especially after – well, you know."

"I'm glad you approve," he said, moving his arms slightly so he could rest his hands on her belly as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "You know, you scared me a little bit yesterday when I thought you were mad about my arranging this without telling you."

"I wasn't mad," she reminded him, keeping her tone light. "And after seeing this place, I'm very glad you brought me here, even if it meant enduring the long drive to get here." She stifled a yawn, which did not escape Harm's notice.

Turning them around, he propelled them back inside the room and towards the bed. Moving away from her, he pulled down the bed covers as he told her, "I think someone needs that nap we were talking about a few minutes ago. Why don't you get undressed and crawl under the covers?"

Mac did as he suggested, laying her clothes on a nearby chair, and climbing under covers dressed in only her bra and panties. As Harm pulled the covers up over her, she asked hopefully, "Join me?"

Harm quickly stripped down to his boxers and joined her under the covers, Mac scooting towards the center of the bed so he could settle in next to her. Harm laid down on his back and Mac slid back over to she could lay on her side next to him, her head resting on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. Suddenly, Mac had a funny thought and smiled, drawing a questioning glance from Harm. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"It's kind of funny," she replied, "but I was just thinking that I can't remember in past relationships just cuddling up in bed together without the expectation of sex being involved. Not that I don't love the physical aspects of our relationship; in fact, that part is ..."

"Stupendous?" Harm interjected. Mac slapped him lightly on the chest.

"Funny," she said dryly. "At the risk of inflating your already oversized ego, that and a few other adjectives. But I also love the quiet times when we just lay together and enjoy each other's company. I don't know how to explain it, but just lying here in your arms like this makes me feel cherished."

"Well, I do," he replied. "Cherish you, I mean. I think that's part of why I acted the way I did on the ferry."

"Okay, I must be really tired," she said, her eyes fluttering closed, "because that last statement made absolutely no sense to me. Promise me something?"

"What?" he asked, even as he knew what the next words out of her mouth were going to be.

"When I'm a little more lucid," she said, stifling another yawn, "promise you'll explain that statement to me. I've got to hear how your cherishing me relates to your not being able to let go that night."

"I'll try," he said, giving her the same answer that he had the day before when the subject of the ferry had come up. When she didn't reply, he looked down to find that she had fallen asleep. For a while, Harm lay there watching her sleep, wondering if he could finally find the words to explain everything that he had been thinking and feeling that night.

-----

SUNDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER  
1525 ZULU  
CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, VIRGINIA

After a leisurely breakfast next to the lily pond behind the inn, Harm and Mac found themselves unable to decide what they wanted to do first. Finally, Harm suggested just driving around until they found something which caught their fancy. Eventually, they had made their way over to Chincoteague Island and Harm had suggested a walk along the beach until they decided what else they wanted to do.

Parking at a beach on the Atlantic side of the island, Harm suggested leaving their shoes in the car and walking barefoot in the sand. Mac had protested, suggesting the pavement they would have to walk over to get onto the beach would be too hot.

"It's not too hot," Harm insisted, taking off his shoes before getting out of the car and walking around to her side in his bare feet to prove the point.

"It had better not be," she retorted as she kicked off her shoes and climbed out of the car while he went around to get something out of the back of the car. Mac noted that the pavement didn't feel too bad beneath her feet. She looked down, making sure there were no obvious hazards such as pieces of glass on the ground and walked to the edge of the sand, stopping to wait for Harm.

When Harm joined her, she was surprised to see him carrying a small pail. Lifting an eyebrow, she asked, "Planning on building a sand castle?" Somehow, she was having a hard time imagining that scenario.

"Hadn't thought of that actually," he replied as they began walking towards the water. "I thought we could collect some sea shells."

"Shells?" Mac echoed. The idea of Harmon Rabb just walking along the water picking up shells was an even harder one to picture than him building a sand castle.

"Yeah," he said, grinning at her. "Haven't you ever just walked along the shore, picking up shells? Come on, it'll be fun. And that's what this little trip is supposed to be about, relaxing and having fun."

Mac shrugged. It did sound like fun and they could always use more of that. As they walked down towards the water, she stole a glance at Harm, marveling at the relaxed expression on his face, trying to remember the last time she had seen him that at ease with himself and the world around him.

Harm turned to look at her and noticed her scrutiny. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Hmmm, just trying to remember when was the last time I saw you looking so relaxed and carefree," she replied.

A thoughtful expression crossed his face and he shrugged. "To be honest," he said, "I can't remember. An obsessive personality doesn't leave much room for relaxation."

"True," she admitted. "I do have to say that I'm surprised to hear you actually admit that you are obsessive. Knowing that you're behaving a certain way and actually admitting it aloud are two very different things."

"Well, thank you for the psychoanalysis, Dr. Mackenzie," he teased as they turned to begin walking along the water's edge.

"And I won't even charge you for that little bit of wisdom," she shot back. Spotting a shell, she knelt down to pick it up, grabbing onto his hand for support. As she slowly pulled herself back up with his help, she suggested, "Maybe we should revise that idea of yours. I point out the shells I want and you pick them up."

"I guess I should have thought of that," he apologized. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him, setting her shell in the pail. "Sometimes I have a hard time remembering to compensate for the extra seventeen pounds and counting that I am carrying around my middle."

They walked along the shore for a few minutes in companionable silence, enjoying the feel of the gentle breeze ruffling their hair and the cool water rolling against their feet. Eventually, they came to some rocks large enough to sit on and Mac suggested taking a break for a few minutes.

"Tired?" he asked as they sat down side by side on a large rock, propping their feet up on a smaller rock in front of them.

"Not really," she replied, looking at him intently. "I just wanted to talk and thought we should sit down to do it."

"About Australia," he stated. He'd known this was going to come sooner or later. The coward in him had just hoped against hope that it would be later.

"We did say we were going to try and talk about it," she reminded him. "You seem to still be beating yourself up over it and I don't want that hanging over us forever."

"There's so much that I was thinking and feeling that night," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. "I'm not sure where to start."

"Do you remember everything that was said that night?" she asked.

"Kind of hard to forget since I've been torturing myself about it for almost seven months," he pointed out.

"Well, then let's start at the beginning," she suggested, "when you pointed out 'what man ever really understands a woman'."

"Partly it was about you on the beach with Mic," he admitted, "but I was also wondering how someone so smart could keep making such bad choices in men. Well, not necessarily bad men, because even I have to admit Mic was pretty decent about the whole breakup, but how about making choices in men that are bad for you?"

"I don't know for sure," she replied. "Maybe given my past, I didn't really believe deep down that I deserved better. If I knew the answer to that question for sure, maybe I wouldn't have made those choices."

"Of course," he continued, turning away to look out over the ocean, "it drove me crazy, the idea that you were topless on that beach with another man."

"I wasn't, you know," she said softly.

"You weren't?" he asked, unconsciously echoing his words from that night.

"Mic did suggest it," she explained, placing a hand on his knee and squeezing gently. "But I was uncomfortable with the idea, so I insisted that he tie the strings behind my back."

"I also hated the idea that you seemed to be enjoying the fact that I was uncomfortable with the idea that you had been topless," he said.

"I will admit that was not the brightest move on my part," she replied. "I guess unconsciously I was trying to make you jealous, hoping you'd make a move. I had decided that I was going to lay everything on the line with you, as far as what I was feeling, but maybe there was a part of me that was scared about how you would react and I was hoping that you would make the first move."

"Last night, you asked me to later explain that statement I made," he said, turning his head back to look at her.

"When you said that it was because you cherished me that you pushed me away?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "I wasn't at a very good place in my life at the time, with leaving JAG and coming back, the resulting tension between us and some other things. I wanted you; I have ever since I let myself get to know you as Sarah Mackenzie and not just a carbon copy of Diane. That was never the issue. Deep down, I was scared."

"Of what, exactly?" she asked gently as he covered her hand on his knee with his hand.

"Messing it up," he replied. "I knew, given the state my life was in, that if we'd gotten involved at that time any relationship between us would have self destructed. At that time, I would have just been another bad choice for you. I loved you too much to put you through that."

"That's what you meant when you said you couldn't let go," she said, everything suddenly so clear. "You thought you needed to straighten out your own life before we could pursue a relationship."

"Of course, the ultimate irony is that I couldn't explain it very clearly," he said, laughing bitterly. "I'm a lawyer and a very good one. You don't get that way without being able to communicate effectively, yet I completely screwed up one of the most important conversations in my life."

"It didn't help that I wasn't listening very well that night," she reminded him. "I don't know, maybe I figured that love would conquer all, we'd fall into each others' arms and ride off into the sunset. Sounds corny, doesn't it? But when you didn't respond to the overtures I was making, I was so hurt that I blocked out what you were actually saying and interpreted it my own way."

"And that interpretation sent you running straight into another man's arms," he finished. "We're quite the pair, aren't we?"

"I guess with all the mistakes we've made, we deserve each other," she teased. When he didn't respond, she poked him in the ribs. "Come on, that was a little bit funny."

"I suppose," he said, "but I'd prefer to think of it as we have been through so much that we deserve to be happy with each other."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my fiancé?" Mac asked, laughing. "Let's see, in the space of an hour, you've managed to admit that you're obsessive, jealous, scared and unable to communicate personal feelings very well."

Finally, she managed to get a smile out of him. "Don't let it get out," he shot back, "I've got a reputation to protect."

"You keep this up and everyone's going to see that beneath that arrogant, flyboy ego you're just a big marshmallow inside," she said, grinning.

"A marshmallow?" he questioned, kissing the top of her head. "Ouch."

Turning serious again, she asked, "So are we finally okay about everything that happened that night?"

Harm smiled at her, a relaxed and peaceful expression on his face. "Yeah," he replied, "I think we're definitely okay."

-----

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER  
1710 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Hi, Carolyn," Sydney greeted the younger woman as she opened the front door. She motioned Carolyn into the house.

"I'm not late, am I?" Carolyn asked. "I got stuck behind an accident on the American Legion bridge."

"No, we're still waiting for Jackie," Sydney assured her. "Maybe she got stuck behind the same accident."

Carolyn nodded as she followed Sydney into the living room. "Probably," she said. "I think she would have crossed the same bridge to get here."

Mac and Harriet were sitting on the couch, pointing out items in a catalog. Mac looked up as Sydney and Carolyn entered the room. "Hi, Carolyn," Mac said. "Take a seat. Can I get you anything?"

Carolyn sat on the loveseat and shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she replied. "What are you looking at?"

"Baby furniture," Harriet said. "The Commander and – sorry, Harm and Mac – went to Babies R Us a few weeks ago and decided to do some comparison shopping before they bought anything."

"Good thing, too," Mac said. "We saw this crib at Babies R Us that was almost four hundred dollars. We just found a similar one in the Exchange Catalog that's only two hundred and fifty."

"I guess I never thought about how expensive babies could be," Carolyn admitted as she leaned forward to look at the catalog in Mac's hands. "And you have to buy two of everything."

"Which is the main reason for the comparison shopping," Mac said as she flipped to another page. "Ouch, nearly four hundred dollars for a rocker and that doesn't include the ottoman."

Sydney stood at the side of the couch and looked over Mac's shoulder. "Those glider rockers are more expensive."

"That's worse than the crib we saw," Mac said, chagrined. "And with two babies, we should probably get two of those also so that Harm and I can both rock the babies at the same time." She flipped a few more pages. "No tandem strollers in here though. That's definitely on the must buy list."

"Have you thought about going to the furniture store at Andrews Air Force Base?" Harriet asked. "Bud and I bought a lot of AJ's stuff there and they have more of a selection than the Exchange catalog."

Mac set the catalog on the coffee table and sighed. "We'll have to make a trip out there when we get back from ... wherever we're going for our honeymoon."

Carolyn smiled. "He still won't tell you where you're going?"

"No," Mac said. "I've tried to get it out of him, but the witness is non-responsive."

"And is that a bad thing?" Sydney mused. "After all, you came back looking pretty ... relaxed after that surprise trip to the Eastern Shore."

Mac smiled softly as she remembered the incredible weekend at the beach a few weeks earlier. That definitely ranked as one of Harm's better ideas. She was about to reply, but the doorbell sounded.

"I'll get that," Sydney said, heading for the door again. When she returned a moment later, it was with both Rachel Carlisle, carrying an armful of garment bags, and Jackie Mattoni in tow.

"I've got all the dresses finished," Rachel announced, laying the bags over the back of a chair. "Is everyone ready to try them on?"

-----

After they had all put on their dresses and while Rachel was checking them for any minor adjustments, Carolyn turned to Jackie. "So did you get stuck behind the accident on the American Legion bridge, too?" she asked.

"I didn't realize there was an accident on the bridge," Jackie replied. "I was just running behind, that's why I was late." She blushed slightly at the last part.

"Spending time with your husband?" Sydney suggested. When Jackie blushed even more, Sydney added, "Come on. With the exception of Carolyn here, we've all got guys of our own and it's obvious that two of us have been very busy with their guys." She nodded towards Mac and Harriet, both of whom were struggling to get into dresses which had fit the week before. Fortunately, Rachel had no problems with a last minute fitting Friday morning after they arrived in Annapolis, just in case either of them put on any more weight in the next five days.

Jackie smiled as she replied, "Funny you should mention that. Alan and I have actually been talking about trying to have a baby."

"That's wonderful," Harriet said enthusiastically.

"You were probably doing more than just talking," Sydney commented knowingly, "since you were late today."

"Sydney!" Mac exclaimed.

"Oh, we're all adults here," Sydney said, shrugging, "and none of us are inexperienced. Anyway, Jackie, that is wonderful. Good luck to you and Alan."

"Yes, good luck," Mac agreed. "It is wonderful news."

"Thanks," Jackie replied, taking off her dress once Rachel was satisfied that it fit properly. "I don't know, I guess being around you and Harriet and seeing little AJ has made us wish for children of our own."

Mac noticed Carolyn had a strange look in her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked. "All this talk about our guys and babies isn't bothering you, is it?"

"No, I'm fine," Carolyn assured her, not sounding entirely sure herself. "I've always been so focused on my career and now maybe I am wishing a little for a meaningful relationship with a man."

"Mac, isn't Commander Keeter single?" Harriet asked.

Mac nodded. "I could introduce you to him," she suggested. "He is a really nice guy and very polite. And he does have dress whites and gold wings."

"I suppose," Carolyn said, not sounding too enthusiastic about the idea.

"So, Mac," Sydney began, deciding a change in topic was in order, "when is everyone arriving for the wedding?"

"Harm's parents are supposed to be here later this evening," she replied. "We're picking them up at Dulles. Uncle Matt arrives Wednesday afternoon at Andrews. Gram Sarah is coming into Reagan tomorrow afternoon. Chloe and her grandparents are coming in Thursday afternoon at Dulles, just in time for the party that night. Clay still hasn't told us when Keeter is arriving, but it is supposed to be within the next couple of days. Let me think, who else. Commander Coulter is coming in at BWI Thursday morning. Tom Boone is flying into Andrews Thursday afternoon. Tuna, Skates and Boomer are coming in from the Patrick Henry Thursday morning, also at Andrews. Francesca's coming in tomorrow at BWI. Oh, and Lieutenant Rivers is coming in from San Diego Friday evening."

"Sounds like you'll be visiting every airport in the DC area this week," Harriet commented.

"Actually, Harm's parents have offered to pick up some of the guests while Harm and I are at work," Mac explained. "Harm and I have a lot of work to do to get everything at JAG squared away by Thursday. And of course, the Admiral will be picking up Francesca."

"Is this going to be the first time you've met Francesca, Sydney?" Carolyn asked, happy for the change in subject.

"Yes," she replied. "We've spoken on the phone a few times and she seems nice enough and, of course, AJ thinks the world of her. I'm just a little nervous about meeting her. At least I've already introduced AJ to my son. One less thing to worry about."

"I'm sure Francesca will like you," Mac tried to assure her. "After all, you make her father happy."

-----

2125 ZULU  
MCMURPHY'S TAVERN  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Carolyn walked into the tavern and took a seat at the bar. After a moment, the bartender noticed her and asked, "What can I get you?"

"Just a club soda with a twist of lime," she replied with a sigh. She didn't even feel up to drinking tonight. She set her purse on the bar and took a handful of peanuts from a nearby bowl.

"Is this seat taken?" a male voice asked from just behind her.

Carolyn looked over her shoulder to see a man with dark blond hair who appeared to be in his late thirties standing just behind her. She shrugged. "No, I'm here alone."

"And something tells me that bothers you," the man commented as he sat on the stool. When the bartender returned with Carolyn's drink, the man ordered a bourbon.

"Is it that obvious?" Carolyn asked, stealing a glance at the man beside her.

He shrugged, "You just look like you could use a friend."

"Oh, friends I've got," Carolyn said as she took a sip of her drink. "In a way, that's the problem."

"I wouldn't think having friends would be a problem," the man pointed out as the bartender arrived with his own drink. "Unless they're the wrong kind of friends."

"My friends definitely aren't that," she replied thoughtfully. "I couldn't ask for better friends. It's just ..." she trailed off, laughing. "This is going to sound funny."

"Try me."

"Well, it's just that they're all so happy," she explained. "Two of my friends are getting married on Saturday and they're expecting a couple of babies in February."

"And you wish that was you," he concluded.

"It's just that ... oh, I don't know," Carolyn said, waving her hands. "Last year, one of my friends had a baby and I began wishing that I could have a baby. Now, that friend is getting ready to have another baby. Another friend, as I said, is getting married and having a couple of kids. And then my partner at work, his wife tells us today that they're trying to have a baby. "

"It does seem like you're surrounded by people having babies," he commented as he sipped his bourbon.

"And then my boss," Carolyn continued, for some reason feeling comfortable talking to the stranger beside her, "who is almost old enough to be my father, is happily engaged to this really nice woman."

"So you're feeling a little down because everyone around you is happy with families," he concluded.

"Something like that," she agreed. She turned to the man beside her and smiled wanly. "You know, I've always been so focused on my career and a family didn't seem as important. But all my friends work with me and when I see them juggling a demanding career and families ..."

"You wonder why that couldn't be you," he interrupted.

"My friend," she added, "the one who's getting married, she offered to introduce me to her fiancé's college roommate. He's the only single person besides me in the wedding party."

"And is that a problem?" he asked. "I mean, if you like him, that would be good, right? If not, then you don't have to see him again."

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe I'm just feeling a little pathetic that my friends have to set me up on a blind date."

"Well, do you know any men that you are interested in?" he asked her, finishing off his drink.

"There's this one guy at work," she said with a laugh. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. Anyway, he is gorgeous and I mean drop dead. His smile could make could make any woman melt. A woman would have to be blind not to be attracted to this guy. But it would never go any further than innocent attraction."

"Guys like that tend to be taken," he pointed out.

"Getting married on Saturday," she said.

"Your friend's fiancé?" he asked, smiling. Carolyn nodded.

"He's a good friend, though," she explained, "and everyone's always known that he and his fiancée are made for each other. Took them a while to figure that out though."

"So why was that?" he asked, motioning to the bartender for another drink.

"With them, who knows," she replied, nodding when the bartender looked at her empty glass, silently asking if she would like another also. "They're both really smart people in other areas, but it took them four years to admit to what everyone else knew."

"Sound like a friend of mine and his partner at work," he said. "Except that last I heard from my friend, his partner was practically engaged to another man. I only saw them together once, but the way my friend always talked about her prior to that and what I saw of them together, I thought they were crazy. They both kept insisting that they were only friends."

"So maybe she loved this other guy more," Carolyn suggested.

Her new friend shrugged. "I met the other guy once also," he said. "I can't explain it, but there just didn't seem to me to be any sparks between him and my friend's partner."

"Maybe you were just prejudiced in favor of your friend," she pointed out.

"Perhaps. But my friend lives in DC, so while I'm in town I'm planning to stop in to see him, see if maybe his partner isn't 'practically engaged' anymore," he said.

"So you're not from here," Carolyn said.

"I travel a lot for my work, so I don't really have a home," he explained. "I'm in town because this guy I work with suddenly called me to DC, no explanation given."

"So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a pilot," he answered. "Maybe he needs me to fly somewhere for him. I don't know. Visiting him is also on the agenda for tomorrow, in addition to seeing my friend. Now, what do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer," she said. "I mostly defend murder cases, but I handle a few other cases on the side from time to time. Anyway, thank you."

"For what?"

"For distracting me," she answered. "You're easy to talk to and you helped get my mind off other things."

"A pretty woman like you shouldn't be sitting here depressed, ma'am," he teased.

"Are you flirting with me?" Carolyn teased back.

"And if I said yes?"

Carolyn smiled. For some reason she couldn't explain, she was drawn to this man. "Then I'd be flattered," she replied.

"Flattered enough to have dinner with me?" he asked, smiling back.

He does have a nice smile, she thought. What the hell? "If I'm going to have dinner with you, I think you should at least know my name," she said, her smile even wider. "It's Carolyn."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Carolyn. I'm Jack," Jack Keeter replied, holding his hand out. Without hesitation, Carolyn shook it. "So since I'm new to the DC area, what's a good place to eat around here?"

-----

MONDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER  
1159 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Despite nearly being late to work, Carolyn was whistling when she walked into JAG. After an enjoyable dinner with Jack, she had offered to drop him off at his hotel since he had taken a taxi to McMurphy's the night before. After talking about everything and nothing for several hours, Carolyn had said her goodbyes and prepared to leave, saying that she had an early staff meeting in the morning. She had been ready to open the door, her hand on the doorknob. Then Jack had kissed her goodnight.

And what a kiss it was, Carolyn reflected. She'd been kissed before, but never before had it felt so charged. Despite the rational, logical voice in her head reminding her that she'd only met Jack a few hours earlier, she had uncharacteristically thrown caution to the wind and had stayed the night. When morning came, she had been very reluctant to leave and had returned home with barely enough time to throw on her uniform, grab her briefcase and race across the Potomac to work.

Entering the bullpen, she saw Loren and Alfred still at their desks gathering up some files, so the staff meeting had obviously not started yet. Deciding it was probably best not to take the time to stop in her office first, Carolyn kept her briefcase with her and followed Lauren and Alfred into the conference room.

They entered the room right ahead of the Admiral. Carolyn breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't be busted for being late. Throughout the meeting, Carolyn was preoccupied with thoughts of Jack, while keeping one ear half-tuned to what was going on around her in case the Admiral asked her something, a distinct possibility since she would be covering some of Mac's cases while Harm and Mac were on their honeymoon.

As the meeting broke up, Carolyn headed for the kitchen for her first cup of coffee of the day. All the while, she wished that she had Mac's ability with time so that she could count down the hours until she would see Jack again that evening.

-----

"Good morning, Commander," Harriet greeted Carolyn when she entered the kitchen to stash her lunch in the fridge.

"Good morning, Harriet," Carolyn said brightly, leaning against the counter with her mug of coffee in hand.

As Harriet stored her lunch, she looked over her shoulder at Carolyn. "You seem to be in a good mood this morning, Commander," she commented.

"I am, Harriet," Carolyn replied, smiling widely. "It's a very good morning, don't you think?"

"Ma'am, it's Monday," Harriet said, puzzled. She couldn't remember Carolyn coming into work quite this chipper. She wondered at the cause of her friend's good cheer.

"Well, sometimes even Monday can surprise you and be a good day," Carolyn said.

"And if you don't mind my asking, Commander," Harriet began, wildly curious, "is there a reason for your good mood? I mean, I was a little worried after yesterday's dress fitting that you felt a little left out when the rest of us were talking about our guys and babies and all that stuff."

"Don't worry about it, Harriet," Carolyn said with a laugh, marveling at the thought of meeting the man who could possibly be the man of her dreams while she was depressed about being the only unattached female in her circle of friends. "After all, I can understand about wanting to brag about having wonderful relationships such as you, Jackie, Mac and Sydney have. As for the other, actually there is a reason."

"And?" Harriet asked, momentarily forgetting about propriety. She was just too curious.

"I met someone," Carolyn confided, nearly jumping with excitement. "His name's Jack, he's a pilot, I met him at McMurphy's, we had dinner and a long talk. He is so sweet and easy to talk to. Eventually, one thing led to another ..." she trailed off, knowing Harriet would be able to connect the dots on the last part.

"Ma'am, this is so exciting," Harriet exclaimed. She was a hopeless romantic and when her friends were happy and in love, she was happy. "Why don't you ask him to accompany you to the wedding? I'm sure the Colonel and the Commander won't mind adding someone to the guest list."

"If they don't mind," Carolyn replied, excited about the idea, "I'd love to ask him. Harriet, I think I'm in love." The last sentence came out in a rush of excitement.

"Well, I think it's just wonderful, Ma'am," Harriet replied. Even if it did seem kind of sudden, Carolyn was so excited that Harriet couldn't help being excited for her.

-----

"Commander Keeter," Bud called out, catching sight of Jack, dressed in his summer whites complete with gold wings, exiting the elevator as Bud headed for his office, "it's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Lieutenant," Jack greeted. "Is Harm around? I just got into town yesterday and I thought I'd stop by and say hello before I head off to meet Webb to find out just why he called me here."

Bud was puzzled. "You mean Mr. Webb didn't tell you why he was bringing you here?" he asked.

"No, I just assumed he wanted to brief me in person on a new mission," Jack explained. "You almost sound like you know why he called me here."

"Well, Sir," Bud began, wondering if he should just take Jack to Harm and let him explain. He stole a quick glance in the direction of Harm's office and saw that the door was open, but Harm wasn't at his desk. As he started to turn back to Jack, he spotted his wife and Carolyn coming out of the kitchen heading for the bullpen. He motioned them over. "Harriet, Commander, have either of you seen Commander Rabb?"

Carolyn was about to reply when she caught sight of the man standing next to Bud. Her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Jack," she stammered out, her heart beating wildly, "when you told me you were a pilot, you didn't tell me you were a Navy pilot."

Jack smiled widely at the woman whom he had been thinking about ever since she had left his hotel room that morning. "Carolyn," he countered, his eyes twinkling merrily, "when you told me you were a lawyer, you didn't tell me you were a Navy lawyer."

"Touché," Carolyn replied, smothering a laugh. But nothing could displace the huge grin on her face.

"Commander Imes," Bud said, "I didn't realize that you were acquainted with Commander Keeter."

Carolyn's mouth dropped open in surprise for the second time in a minute and this time she couldn't control the laughter. How was that for irony, she thought. "I should have realized last night," she exclaimed, "when you said that you had a friend you thought was in love with his partner from work and that the last time you had spoken to your friend, the partner was practically engaged to another man."

"That story sounds very familiar," Harriet pointed out, smiling while Bud looked everyone in confusion. So this was Carolyn's Jack, Harriet thought. And if Harriet was any judge of character and the way Jack was looking at Carolyn, he felt the same thing about Carolyn that she did about him. Being the hopeless romantic, she wondered if there could be another JAG wedding sometime in the not to distant future.

"Uh, excuse me, Commander Imes," Bud interrupted, "about Commander Rabb?" Carolyn and Jack both turned to look at him, slightly embarrassed that they had been just standing there staring at each other.

"Sorry, Bud," Carolyn said, flushing slightly. "I believe he's in the Admiral's office. I think it has something to do with his transfer."

"Transfer?" Jack asked, puzzled. "He's not going back to flying again, is he? From what he has said, he's happier back at JAG."

"No, he's going to be a military liaison on the Hill," Carolyn informed him, then she remembered a bit of their conversation the night before. "That's right, you said last night you didn't know why you had been called to DC."

"Sounds like you do," Jack commented, puzzled at what that had to do with Harm's transfer.

"Well, do you remember last night when I said my friend who was getting married was trying to set me up with her fiancé's college roommate?" Carolyn asked.

"Yeah, but what does that ..." Jack trailed off as understanding dawned. "You mean Harm is getting married?" Bud, Harriet and Carolyn all nodded, smiling. "And that would make me the college roommate."

Carolyn nodded again, trying to smother a laugh. "I'm sorry," she said, "but you do have to admit that it's pretty ironic."

"I guess it is," Jack replied with a laugh. "So, who is Harm marrying?" Suddenly, his conversation with Carolyn at McMurphy's played in his mind. "You said that everyone knew that your friends who are getting married were made for each other, but it took them a while – four years, to be exact – to figure it out. He's marrying Mac, isn't he?"

"At the Academy chapel Saturday morning at ten hundred hours," Carolyn confirmed. "I hope Mr. Webb at least told you that you would need your dress whites."

"They're back at my hotel room," Jack replied.

"Good, then you won't look out of place ..." Carolyn trailed off when she caught sight of Mac walking in their direction. "Colonel, look who just arrived."

Mac smiled when she saw Jack standing with Carolyn, Bud and Harriet. When she reached them, she greeted him, "It's good to see you again, Keeter. I know Harm will be relieved that Clay was able to get you here."

"Permission to hug the bride-to-be?" he asked, holding out his arms.

"Permission granted," Mac replied as she stepped into his outstretched arms.

"Congratulations, Mac," he whispered to her. "I'm sure you and Harm will be very happy."

"Not trying to steal my Marine, are you?"

Jack stepped away from Mac and saw Harm walking towards them accompanied by the Admiral. He just grinned at his old friend. "Hey, I tried to talk her into running away with me back in the desert, but she turned me down," he joked, a mock frown on his face. "It's good to see you, buddy. Congratulations."

"It's about time you got here," Harm said. "Admiral AJ Chegwidden, this is my Academy roommate, Commander Jack Keeter. Keeter, this is Admiral Chegwidden."

"So you're the one my people have to keep rescuing from hostile countries," AJ commented dryly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes, Sir," Jack replied, not quite sure what to make of the Admiral's statement, however true it might be.

"It's good to finally meet you, Commander," AJ said. "Try not to get into any trouble while you're here."

"I'll try, Sir," Jack said, breaking into a smile.

"So, Keeter, did you just get here?" Harm asked. "Have you met everyone? Of course, you already know Sarah and Bud."

"Actually, Carolyn and I met last night," he replied, smiling at Carolyn. "But no one's introduced me to the pretty Lieutenant j.g. here."

Harriet blushed. Being eight months pregnant, it wasn't often that she heard compliments like that. Bud took care of the introductions. "Harriet, this is Commander Jack Keeter. Commander, this is my wife, Lieutenant Harriet Sims."

Jack and Harriet shook hands. "Your husband's a very lucky man, Harriet," he complimented her.

Harriet turned to Carolyn and smiled. "You were right, Commander," she said. "He is sweet."

Jack looked back at Carolyn and smiled while everyone looked from one to the other, puzzled. Noticing everyone's scrutiny, Carolyn decided to offer a brief explanation. "I went to McMurphy's last night after the dress fitting," she explained, her eyes never leaving Jack's. "Jack and I sat next to each other at the bar and got to talking. We didn't realize, though, that we have friends in common."

"As fascinating as this is," AJ said, "let's get back to work. Some people have until seventeen hundred hours on Thursday to clear their desks or they will be spending their honeymoon right here."

He was answered with a chorus of "Yes, Sir". He turned and headed back for his office, Bud headed for his and Harriet went to her desk in the bullpen.

"Boy, you move fast," Harm teased Jack. "Just got here and already have a girl in port."

"What can I say," he shot back, winking at Carolyn. "She knew a good thing when she saw it."

"Word of warning," Mac said to Carolyn, throwing a glance at the men. "Watch out for the flyboy ego."

"Hey, you know what they say about dress whites and gold wings," Jack teased.

Mac shrugged, pretending disinterest. "Highly overrated," she said indifferently.

"Then I suppose you won't mind if we skip the military ceremony and go with plain tuxedos," Harm suggested with a shrug.

"Don't you dare!" Mac exclaimed, laughing.

Carolyn looked at Jack speculatively, imagining him in his dress whites and gold wings. "I agree," she added. "I think you should stick with the dress whites."

"Someone's got it bad," Mac whispered, leaning towards Carolyn.

"Like Jack said," she whispered back. "I knew a good thing when I saw it."

-----

2215 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Harm, what's wrong?" Mac asked as they changed out of their uniforms, looking at the folder in his hand. "You've been very quiet most of the day."

Harm, sitting on their bed, patted the comforter next to him. "Sit down for a minute," he said. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

Mystified, she did as he asked, looking at him expectantly. After a moment, Harm sighed and handed her the folder he had carried upstairs with him. "A few weeks ago, I asked Gunny to get some information for me. This is what he found." He watched her, waiting patiently while she perused the information Gunny had given him.

"Why?" she asked, afraid that if she said any more that she would end up blowing up at him.

Harm sensed the anger behind the question and wondered for not the first time if he'd done the right thing. After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "I thought you might want to invite her to the wedding."

"Have you already contacted her?" she continued, her voice tight.

"No," he replied, keeping his voice steady. "I wanted to leave the decision up to you. I just asked Gunny to find out where she is."

"Why would I want to contact her?"

"Sarah, she is your mother," he reminded her. "I thought ..."

"She gave up the right to be called my mother when she walked out on my fifteenth birthday," she retorted, her voice rising in anger.

"Weren't you the one who said running into her at your father's deathbed was a 'growing experience'?" he asked, keeping his voice level in the face of her anger.

"That doesn't mean it's an experience that I'd like to repeat," she cried. "She didn't even care enough about me to keep track of me all those years. She didn't even know that her own brother was in Leavenworth. Anyway, if she wanted to be a part of my life, she's had a year and a half since my father died to contact me, but she hasn't. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

"Maybe she's afraid that you wouldn't want anything to do with her," Harm said quietly. "Maybe she didn't think she'd be able to take it if she contacted you and you rejected her."

"Why shouldn't I reject her?" she demanded. "She rejected me first when she walked out."

"Sarah," he said, deciding to try a different tack, "maybe she'd like the chance to get to know her grandchildren. They could bring you two together."

Mac was quiet for a long moment. The question of what to tell the twins about her parents had bothered her on and off since she had found out she was pregnant. Her father was the easy one – all she would have to say is that he was dead, which was the truth. Her mother was trickier. She could lie and say she was dead also, but what if the truth eventually came out? She didn't like the idea of lying to her own children. But how do you explain to young children that their Mommy's mother didn't care enough to be a part of her family's lives?

"Look, I said before that this was your decision," Harm assured her. "And I meant that."

"But you want me to contact her," she said quietly, staring down at the folder laying open in her hands without really seeing it through the tears forming in her eyes.

"I won't think any less of you if you don't," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder to pull her closer. But instead of leaning into his embrace as she normally would, she sat there still and unyielding. "Sarah ..."

"Harm, don't," she said, her voice breaking. She pulled away from him and stood. "I don't need this right now." She turned and fled from the room, dropping the folder on the bed before she left.

Damn, he thought. He had hoped that this would be a good thing, trying to bring mother and daughter together. Instead, all he had done was get Mac mad at him with less than five days to go before the wedding. Just great.

"Do you want to talk about it?" a voice asked from the doorway. Harm looked up from studying the floor to find Frank standing there.

"How did you know?" Harm asked.

Frank walked into the room and sat down a few feet from Harm on the bed. "Your mother was walking by and heard you two," he explained. "She's talking to Mac downstairs right now."

"I thought I was doing the right thing," Harm said, frustrated. "Mac has been talking about this being a new beginning. I just thought ... I don't know, that maybe becoming a mother herself would make her want to open up the lines of communication with her own mother. I thought that our children should have the chance to get to know their other grandmother."

"I don't pretend to know everything about Mac's relationship with her mother," Frank said. "But from her point of view, she thinks she has valid reasons for not wanting to see or talk to her mother. Whether those reasons are right or wrong is not the point and it's not up to you to get her to do something she's not ready for."

"And I wasn't trying to make her contact her mother," Harm said quietly. "I just had Gunny find out where she is and then I turned the information over to Mac. I wanted to leave the decision up to her."

"But did it occur to you that even though you said the decision was up to her," Frank suggested, "that she unconsciously took the fact that you had gone to the trouble of getting the information as a sign that you did want her to contact her mother?"

Harm was quiet for a moment, finally admitting, "I never thought of it like that."

"One of the hardest things in a relationship is to make yourself see things from the other person's point of view," Frank pointed out. "Now, you told me what you were thinking when you did this. Before you started this, did you stop to think about what she might think about it? I know that you would like to see Mac reconcile with her mother and for everyone to be one big, happy family. But if Mac feels that she's been forced into it, is everyone really going to be better off?"

"I don't know," Harm admitted, sighing. "When her father was dying, I talked her into going out to California to see him. Later, when she thanked me, I said that I couldn't have talked her into it if she didn't really want to be talked into it. I guess I was hoping the same thing would apply here. So I guess in a way, I was unconsciously putting pressure on her to contact her mother."

"It's good that you realize that," Frank said, patting Harm's shoulder, "but I'm not the one you need to tell it to."

Harm turned his head and smiled at Frank. "Thanks, Frank."

"Come on," Frank suggested, standing. "Let's go find your mother and Mac."

-----

"Darling, do you want to talk about it?" Trish asked as Mac entered the living room.

Mac sat down on the couch next to Trish and sighed. "How did you know?" she asked.

"I was upstairs getting something," she explained. "When I was getting ready to head back downstairs, I passed by your room and heard most of what was said."

"I can't believe he did this," Mac exclaimed. "He knows how I feel about my mother. Why would he think that I would even want to contact her?"

"I don't know," Trish said, patting Mac's hand comfortingly. "Maybe now that he's accepted Frank's presence in my life, in his life, he wants to see you make peace with your mother. Maybe he wants your children to have a chance to know their other grandmother."

"My relationship with my mother is not the same as his with Frank," Mac pointed out. "Even when he wouldn't admit it, Harm always knew that Frank was there for him. My mother walked out on me when I was fifteen and has never bothered to contact me in all that time. Even after she saw me when my father died, she still didn't try to keep in touch with me. As for the other, if she doesn't care for me, why should I expect that she would care about my children?"

"I don't pretend to understand why she has done the things she has. But let me ask you this. If she was to reach out on her own and contact you, would you want to talk to her?" Trish asked.

Mac was thoughtful for a moment, then softly replied, "Honestly, I don't know."

"Maybe she's afraid that you wouldn't want anything to do with her," Trish suggested. "And is it possible that the reverse is true, that you're afraid that if you do contact her, she won't want anything to do with you?"

"I supposed," Mac admitted.

"But if you do contact her and she doesn't want anything to do with you, would you be any worse off than you are now?" Trish asked.

"I suppose not."

"But if you contact her and she does want a relationship with you, then you'll probably be better off, correct?" she continued.

"I guess."

"Now, I'm not trying to influence you one way or the other," Trish assured her. "As a mother, I can't imagine anything that would make me abandon my child the way she did. On the other hand, I haven't lived the life that she has and can't honestly say that I wouldn't have done the same thing under the same circumstances.

"Now, my point with all this is that maybe that's what Harm was thinking. If you and your mother do reconcile, than that's wonderful for everyone. If you don't contact her, then you're really no worse off. Maybe he just wanted you to have the option."

"I don't know," Mac said sadly. "It just felt like he was trying to influence me to contact her, otherwise, why go through all the trouble of tracking her down? After all, he's the one who talked me into going to California when my father was dying."

"And do you feel that you are better off for having seen him one last time?"

"I was able to forgive him and let go of my anger towards him," she admitted.

"Maybe Harm just wanted you to have that same chance with your mother," Trish suggested gently. "After all, he did say that it was your decision."

"I know," she said softly.

"I'm not taking sides here," Trish said. "To be honest, I think in a way you're both right and you're both wrong. But you need to sit down and talk about it. Tell each other what you're thinking and feeling."

"That sounds like our cue," Harm said as he and Frank entered the living room. Harm sat down on Mac's other side on the couch. Trish got up and motioned to Frank.

"Why don't we leave these two alone?" she suggested, leading him out of the living room. "They have some things to talk about."

"I'm sorry," they both began, breaking off with shaky laughs.

"Please let me," Harm insisted, picking up her left hand and studying the diamond on her third finger, "since I probably owe you the bigger apology."

"An apology from Harmon Rabb," Mac said flatly, trying to smile.

"I've been working on myself," he said, his own smile equally lifeless. "I should have talked to you before I asked Gunny to locate your mother. I know what you went through during your childhood and I should have known better than to spring this on you without thinking this through more."

"I probably shouldn't have reacted as badly as I did," she admitted. "I know that you had only the best intentions and would never intentionally do anything to hurt me."

"But I seem to be unable to help myself when it comes to unintentionally hurting you," he pointed out.

Mac was silent for a moment, studying their hands. "I guess we're doing better if we can talk about it instead of pushing each other away," she said.

"I guess."

"Harm, I don't know if I'm going to contact her," she said, lifting her eyes to meet his. "I don't even know if I want to contact her. It may be too late, but I know you meant well and I do thank you for that."

"I won't push the issue," he said, pulling her into his arms. "The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable by forcing you to do something you don't want to do."

"I love you," she said softly, tears filling her eyes.

-----

Just outside the living room, Trish breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to eavesdrop, but she was concerned. From what little she had heard about Mac's mother, she knew that was a sore spot for Mac and Trish was determined to be there for her future daughter-in-law.

"I can't believe anyone could treat their child as badly as Mac was apparently treated," she said sadly as she let Frank lead her to the kitchen.

"I know," Frank replied. "You have to admire her, though, for being able to rise about that to become the strong person that she is."

"But even the strongest person needs someone to take care of them sometimes," she pointed out. She smiled at him. "I know I did and I had you."

"And she has Harm," he said.

-----

THURSDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER  
2335 ZULU  
MCMURPHY'S TAVERN  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Mac reached to open the door to enter the tavern, rented out just for the party, colliding with someone else reaching for the door at the same time.

"Excuse me, I should have been ..." Mac began, but stopped when she got a good look at the person she had just bumped into. "Keeter, sorry about that." She looked around, but didn't see Carolyn. "Carolyn didn't come with you?"

"I had a meeting with some people at Naval Intelligence," he explained, "and she had to finish up an interview for a case, so we agreed to meet each other here."

"You two have gotten very close the last few days," Mac pointed out.

"There's just something about her," he said, smiling. "I don't know how to explain it."

"I don't think love can be explained," Mac said, leaning against the door.

"True," Jack admitted. "Maybe that's what makes it so interesting. So where's Harm? I was expecting him to come with you."

"My back is bothering me, so he went to pick up my sister Chloe at the airport instead of me," she explained. "We didn't think I'd be able to take being in the stuck in the car for the amount of time it would take to get there and back."

"He really takes care of you," Jack stated. "I noticed that in the desert. It was really difficult for him to leave you behind. It just amazes me after what I saw in the desert that it took you two so long to admit your feelings."

"Do you know how many times I've heard that one?" she teased, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I can imagine," he replied. "I've known Harm for almost twenty years and I haven't seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you since ... well, in a long time." His voice trailed off hesitantly as he realized his mistake. He really liked Mac and thought she was perfect for Harm. He didn't want to risk upsetting her by bringing up the ghosts of past girlfriends.

"Since when?" she asked quietly. She then realized what, or rather who, he was talking about. "This is ... about her, isn't it?"

"Her?" he repeated nervously. "I don't know who ..."

"Diane," Mac said. "You were thinking about Diane Schonke. You haven't seen Harm look at a woman that way since her – that's what you were going to say, isn't it?"

"Mac ..." he began, shrugging. "I didn't mean to bring it up. I wasn't sure if you knew about her and ... well, I don't want you to think that I believe that Harm's love for you is based on the fact that you look like her."

"I've known about her for several years," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "From the moment we met, I knew that I reminded Harm of someone. He admitted as much himself. It was more than a year later, after I saw a picture of her at his apartment, that he told me about who she was and how she died. I'm sure you noticed the resemblance yourself the first time you saw me in Iran."

"Yeah," he admitted, "but you were wearing that scarf around your head, so I wasn't entirely sure. Then you took the head piece off and I realized that I wasn't seeing things, but I didn't want to bring up the subject. I'm sure you can understand why."

Mac looked down at the ground. Diane was a subject she and Harm had made their peace with already, but at a time like this, it stung just a bit to be reminded of the woman who had held Harm's heart for so long. "Yes, I do," she finally said, lifting her gaze to his. "Bud said pretty much the same thing when I asked him why he never mentioned the resemblance between us."

"Look, Mac, I'm really sorry that I opened this can of worms," Jack said. "Why don't we just forget about it and join the party? I'm sure your fiancé is missing you." When Mac made no move to go inside, he repeated, "I'm sorry I brought it up, I really am. I didn't mean to upset you less than two days before your wedding about something that's in the past."

"Apology accepted," Mac said softly. "I guess it would be natural for you – for anyone who knew Diane – to wonder about Harm's and my relationship."

"That's just it," he pointed out, "I don't wonder about it. I think I know Harm well enough to know that he would never base a relationship on the fact that you resemble his late college sweetheart. Besides, I don't think the kick ass jarhead that Harm has always described to me would let him get away with something like that. Do you want to hear my analysis of the situation?"

"Please," she said. "I'm curious."

"You challenge Harm," he explained. "You challenge his perceptions and make him a better person. You're his equal in every way and you accept him for what he is, the complete package, instead of trying to force him to live up to some image."

"He does the same for me. Harm has seen me through a lot of things that would send most people running in the opposite direction," she added. "He's never judged me or asked me to be something that I'm not."

"So are we okay?" he asked, giving her a flyboy grin similar to Harm's. She wondered if that was something that was taught to pilots in flight school.

"We're fine, Keeter," she replied, smiling. "And thank you for that last part."

"Come on, let's get inside before our significant others begin to wonder where we are," Jack suggested, reaching to open the door. As he grabbed the door handle, someone opened it from the inside.

"There you are, Jack," Carolyn said, seeing him first. "I was just coming out to see ... Mac, Harm's inside already and wondering where you are." She held the door open as they walked inside. She led them towards the bar, where Harm was standing, talking to Frank.

Before they reached the bar, they were waylaid by one very excited thirteen-year-old. "Mac!" Chloe cried out, throwing her arms around Mac's neck. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, sweetheart," Mac said, returning the hug. "How was your flight?"

"Too long," Chloe complained.

"Chloe, I want you to meet someone," Mac said, turning to Jack. "This is Commander Jack Keeter. He was Harm's roommate at the Academy. Keeter, this is my little sister Chloe."

"Hello, Chloe," Jack said. "It's very nice to meet you."

"So I bet you know some really good stories about Harm," she proclaimed with a grin while a look of mock horror crossed Harm's face.

"Chloe," Mac warned, drawing out her name. Chloe turned and just grinned at her.

"Hey, everyone!" Chloe called out loudly, trying to be heard over the noise in tavern. "Now that both the bride and groom are here, let the entertainment begin!"

"Entertainment?" Harm whispered to Mac. "I thought we were trying to avoid that kind of thing."

"It'd better not be that kind of entertainment," she whispered back. "There are minors present, remember?" She nodded towards Chloe, who had sat down at a table with Harm's mother and grandmother, and Josh Pendry, who was sitting with his mother next to Bud and Harriet.

"It had better not be anything that's going to get anyone arrested," Harm said, shaking his head.

As Harm and Mac took their seats, Sydney got up from her chair and went to stand in front of a large screen television which had been set up against the wall where everyone could see it. The tavern became quiet and everyone shifted in their seats, directing their attention towards Sydney.

"I have to admit that I have only known Harm and Mac for a few months," Sydney began, "so I feel a little odd standing up here talking to you about them, especially since I missed a lot of the highlights of their relationship."

Mac noted her emphasis on the word 'highlights' and turned to Harm. "You remember what Sydney said when she first heard how we met?" she asked.

"Oh, no," Harm muttered as Sydney picked up a remote control sitting on top of the television.

"When I first heard how these two met," Sydney continued, "I couldn't believe that it had taken these two four years to admit their feelings for each other. The best romance writer could not have written a better first meeting. Then I heard that there were more such stories, incidents which show why there are probably no two people in the world more perfect for each other than Harmon Rabb and Sarah Mackenzie.

"I thought this party would be the perfect opportunity for those of you who have had the pleasure of witnessing some of Harm and Mac's better – and worse – moments to tell those stories for the amusement of everyone except the bride and groom, both of whom are probably wishing that my fiancé was not their commanding officer so that they could both have their revenge for this at some later date." As laughter floated around the room, she grinned at Harm and Mac, who were both resisting the urge to bolt.

"Before we begin, I have a few people to thank who helped make this all possible," she said. "First, many thanks to Victor Galindez and Jason Tiner, who helped me refine my original storytelling idea into the video tape which you are about to see. They did much of the filming and all of the editing themselves. Thanks also to Clayton Webb, who obtained interviews from a few of our more difficult to reach participants and who is also guarding the original video, just in case Harm and Mac get any ideas about destroying it." Everyone laughed again.

"Oh, God," Harm muttered. "Webb's involved in this."

"And the biggest thanks to all of you who shared your stories and memories of Harm and Mac with us," she said, turning the television on. "Everyone sit back, enjoy and let's try not to be too hard on Harm and Mac. After all, they did eventually discover – or rather admit - for themselves what everyone else has known for the last four years."

More laughter was heard as Sydney sat down next to AJ and hit the play button on the remote. "Please wake me when this is over," Mac murmured as she leaned against Harm's shoulder.

"I insisted on being first to talk about Harm and Mac," Clay began, filmed standing next to the Declaration of Independence in the National Archives. "I was the one who brought them together. The Declaration of Independence was being transported to a company in California for restoration when it was stolen by a militia group made up of former and retired military members. It was requested that my investigation be coordinated with the Navy's JAG corps since the crime involved the military and took place on a military base.

"At the time, the big gun at JAG headquarters was a brash, arrogant former pilot who only became a lawyer when he was forced out of the cockpit for medical reasons," he continued. "But I wanted someone else in on the investigation. Unknown to just about everyone, the head of the militia group had a niece, a Marine, who went from admin assistant to lawyer. I arranged for her to be transferred to Washington to take part in the investigation, setting the stage for the first meeting between a cocky Navy Lieutenant Commander and a no-nonsense Marine Major."

Next, scenes played of Harm's first Distinguished Flying Cross ceremony at the White House with AJ providing the voice over. "Harm, in one of his first major cases at JAG, had landed a damaged Tomcat at night, saving the life of the CAG of the USS _Sea Hawk_. His actions earned him the first of two Distinguished Flying Crosses, which was awarded by the President at the White House. I had arranged for my newest officer to meet us at the White House after the ceremony and that's how Lieutenant Commander Harmon Rabb and Major Sarah Mackenzie first laid eyes on each other in the Rose Garden."

The video switched to scenes of the Rose Garden while AJ continued his narration. "From the moment they met, I knew there was something there, an electricity between them, just from the way they stared at each other. It was so obvious that I felt I had to add the warning 'Don't get too familiar, you'll be working together.' All I can say now is that it was hardly the last time either of them would not listen to me."

As nearly everyone laughed, Mac looked down at the table, remembering that first meeting and the reason she had later learned was behind Harm's shock at her appearance. On the table, Harm took her hand in his and squeezed it, knowing she was thinking of Diane. "I love you, Sarah," he whispered.

"I know," she whispered back as Matt continued the story of their first case together on the tape.

"The first time I met my future nephew," Matt said, filmed sitting in Harm and Mac's living room, "Sarah was holding a gun on him, pretending for the benefit of my militia group that she had been coming to join us and had captured the man who had been following her. For most people, this would have been reason enough to distrust her. So I was more than a little surprised when Harm offered to defend me in court and to stand up for Sarah if her actions threatened her career, despite the implications it might have on his own career. I was so surprised that I turned to her and asked her 'Where'd you find this Sailor, Sarah?'

"When she answered 'In a Rose Garden, Uncle Matt' and I saw the look in her eyes and the smile on her face, I knew that this man whom she barely knew had already become something special to her. Then when Harm, without a second thought, risked his own life to save mine and Sarah's, I knew the feeling was mutual," he continued.

"Of course, like most couple, they have had their fights," Bud, filmed in one of the JAG courtrooms, picked up the narration. "Their first big one involved the first case they opposed each other on. The whole thing started when the Major – "

From off camera, Sydney could be heard telling Bud, "This video is personal. I think it's okay to call them Mac and Harm."

That got a laugh out of everyone, even Mac and Harm. "How many times have we told him and Harriet that?" Harm whispered to her.

On screen, Bud continued, "Okay, Mac accused Harm of sandbagging her. To be honest, he did, but he expected what happened in court to stay in court while she, on the other hand, took it very personally. She took it so personally that she called him on it in front of JAG in the middle of the day where anyone walking by could witness it. I commented to Harm that it was like watching your parents fight. They kept going at each other throughout the trial. When Harm was having a good day, he'd walk around whistling 'Anchor's Aweigh'; if Mac was having a good day, 'The Marine Corps Hymn' could be heard. But when it was all over, they were best friends again. I'm not sure how it all worked out, but knowing Harm and Mac, I'm sure there's a story there, too."

Bud continued the narration on screen, but this time he was at the Leesburg airfield where 'Sarah' was kept. Apparently, one of the people at the airfield had cooperated with the taping, because Bud was actually in the hanger standing next to the yellow Stearman.

"For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going up in her," Bud said, patting one of the plane's wings, "this is the Comman – sorry, Harm's Stearman 'Sarah'." Bud must have anticipated the knowing smiles on the people's faces when they heard the name of the plan, because he added, "It is just a coincidence. The plane is actually named after his grandmother."

"I don't think anyone's going to believe that anymore," Gram Sarah said, smiling at her grandson.

Bud's story continued on screen. "This plane – and a defective fuel line – nearly led to both Harm and Mac being declared UA. Of course, until they finally returned from their adventure in the mountains and the whole story of what happened came out, there was all kinds of speculation as to the reason why both of them had taken a personal day that Monday."

As everyone laughed, Mac said to Harm, "Too bad what they were thinking couldn't have actually happened."

"Doesn't mean we didn't think about it, remember?" he teased her, winking.

"Unfortunately, what really happened was not quite so pleasant," Bud explained. "The fuel line had split, forcing an emergency landing. While looking for help, they ran into poachers who had just murdered a game warden. By the time Harm managed to fix the plane, Mac had a fever from an infected buck shot wound in her leg and she ended up spending the next three days in the hospital. I'm sure no one has to guess who spent most of those three days by her side."

As more laughter floated around the room, AJ returned on screen, this time in front of Mercy Hospital in DC. "In the five years that I've know Harm and the four that I've known Mac, I've received many calls about one or the other – usually both of them – being in some kind of trouble," he said, standing in his usual pose with his arms folded across his chest. "This time, the call was from Mac informing me that Harm had gotten hit by a car and was in the emergency room at this hospital. And it did not surprise me to learn that the reason he was hit by the car was that he had pushed Mac out of the way of the car."

AJ sighed on screen as he added, "Of course, there is a lot more to the story, with terrorists taking over the hospital and Harm and Mac almost single-handedly resolving the situation. With Harm and Mac, there's always a lot more to the story. That's always been one of the hallmarks of their relationship."

Teresa Coulter, sitting at the table behind Harm and Mac with Bud, Harriet, Annie and Josh, leaned over to whisper to Harm, teasing, "Why haven't I ever heard any of this? No wonder you weren't interested."

Annie overheard the comment and asked, "Another member of the Harmon Rabb fan club who never stood a chance?"

"You, too?" Teresa asked, turning towards Annie.

"I actually broke it off with Harm for other reasons," she explained, "but I always knew that I wasn't number one. I even said so not long after I first met Mac."

"God, tell me this isn't happening," Harm muttered, soft enough that only Mac heard him.

"Maybe I should suggest that Kate come over here and join in," Mac teased him, louder so that Teresa and Annie could hear. "I'm sure she could add something to this discussion."

"Et tu, Brute?"

"Now there's woman confident in her man's love," Teresa pointed out while Mac laughed.

"I'm not really the jealous type," Mac said, smiling slyly at Harm. "After all, I've stood by and watched him with a Romanian princess, Annie, his dry cleaners' daughter, the shrink, the Video Princess and, of course, let's not forget Congresswoman ... oh, look who's on the tape now."

Bobbi was indeed giving her take on Harm and Mac, talking about when she had first met them and told Harm, "Mac likes you."

"I told her that you'd like to wring my neck," Harm told Mac, just as Bobbi was relating the same thing on screen.

"Believe me," Mac replied, "I've been tempted many times."

"Who hasn't been?" Annie asked.

"Why do we have to talk about all my other relationship?" Harm complained.

"Because you, my dear, are the jealous type and you don't like to talk about my past relationships, such as they were," Mac replied, a trace of sadness in her voice.

"Hey, that's over now, " he whispered to her, brushing a tear from her cheek as she smiled wanly at him.

Ironically, on the tape, Bud and Harriet were talking about the day that Mac had walked out of JAG, seemingly for the last time. "That was the first time you called me Sarah," Mac remembered.

AJ was back on screen again, this time talking about Harm's arrest and brig break a few weeks later. "I had called Mac's place, insisting that if she had seen him she was to let me know," he related. "Of course, I heard nothing from her, but I'll give everyone three guess on where Harm was hiding out."

"I told you he was the jealous type," Mac teased as Bud related on the tape some of the incidents illustrating Harm's jealousy of Dalton. Her expression suddenly turned serious when the recollections turned to the more serious topic of Dalton's murder and her stalking.

"You survived," Harm reminded her, holding her closer to him.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she whispered.

"Yes, you could have," he insisted. "I just helped a little."

"You too, Mom?" Harm asked, while Trish was on tape talking about her 'quite the girl' comment just before Harm and Mac had gone to Russia.

Of course, that brought the recollections around to the subject of their trip to Russia. "Oh, my God," Mac exclaimed when she saw the next narrator on screen. "Alexei." Someone had gotten Alexei to talk about his experiences with Harm and Mac, filming him standing by his taxi on a Moscow street. Mac remembered what Sydney had said earlier about Clay getting some of the more difficult interviews.

She and Harm looked around the room, searching for Clay. Finally, Mac noticed him standing by himself at the back of the room and she pointed him out to Harm. At their questioning glance, Clay simply shrugged and turned his attention back to the television, where Clay was continuing the story of their experiences in Russia and moving into the story of the party at the Sudanese Embassy.

Jack was next up, talking about their adventure in Iran and the more than friendly hugs he witnessed. Harm shot him a dirty look across the table, but Jack smiled and shrugged. "Carolyn asked me if I knew any good stories about you two," he explained. "I figured the least I could do was share."

"Oh, this is nothing," Carolyn told everyone at the table. "We've got some really good stuff coming up in a few minutes."

"What really good stuff?" Mac demanded while Carolyn looked like the cat that had eaten the canary.

"You'll see," she simply said.

"Oh, no," Mac said, covering her eyes with her hand as Chloe appeared on the screen, repeating what she'd told Harm the first time she'd met him.

"Buddy, I would have thought it would be very obvious right there," Jack commented.

"Jack, trust me," Carolyn said mysteriously. "It gets even better."

Mac began shaking her head. "Don't tell me you talked about the wetting down," she said.

"Oh, well, yeah I did," Carolyn told her, "but that's not what I was talking about."

"I don't ... no, you didn't," Mac insisted even as Carolyn nodded her head.

"What is it?" Harm asked.

"I can't believe you did that!"

"Come on," Carolyn insisted. "That has got to be the best Harm and Mac story of all time."

"What?" Harm asked again.

"I don't believe this," Mac said softly, shaking her head. "Any of you ladies available to be a bridesmaid? One of mine is about to learn a hard lesson about messing with a Marine."

Trish leaned behind Frank to ask Carolyn, "That good?"

"Trust me," she replied. "This is better than anything you can possibly imagine."

Carolyn was on the screen, talking about Bud and Harriet's wetting down, when Mac had insisted to her and Jordan that nothing had ever happened between her and Harm. While everyone else turned their attention back to the television, Harm whispered, "Sarah?"

"It's about AJ," she said vaguely, confusing Harm.

"The Admiral? I don't ..."

"Wrong AJ," she whispered shortly as understanding dawned for Harm.

"How did she find out?" he whispered back.

"Well," Mac replied, diverting her eyes, "I told her. While you were testifying in the Johns tried, remember how she came into my office to keep me company? We were talking and the story just came out. And I should probably tell you that Sydney knows also."

"And how did she find out?"

"She saw the card that I had bought, to tell you that we are having a girl," she explained. "She asked if there was a story behind what I had written and I told her."

"I wonder if Josh could help us escape," he pondered. "That kid could evade a Marine Recon team."

"Too late," Mac muttered as both Carolyn and Sydney appeared on screen.

Carolyn spoke first. "Now, this story is so good, that it takes two of us to tell it," she said. "I guarantee this will be the best Harm and Mac story any of you have ever heard. It all started the day AJ Roberts made his appearance into the world. Harriet had gone into labor at work and Harm had called an ambulance, but I also had a client who had gone into labor and the ambulance took her away instead. Bud ended up stuck in an elevator, nearly missing his son's birth; the Admiral was pressed into the role of midwife; and Harriet gave birth on the floor of the Admiral's office with Harm and Mac playing labor coaches."

While everyone laughed, imagining the scene in the Admiral's office that day, Sydney picked up the story on screen. "Finally, another ambulance came and Harriet, Bud and baby AJ all went to the hospital," she continued. "After it was all over, Harm and Mac were standing together on the porch outside of JAG." Suddenly, on screen Carolyn and Sydney both broke into laughter.

Mac's eyes sought out Sydney, who was sitting next to AJ, trying to control her laughter. Mac fleetingly wondered if it would be possible to replace half the bridal party less than two days before the wedding.

On the television, Sydney and Carolyn managed to regain some semblance of control. Sydney continued the story. "Mac was feeling a little blue because Chloe, who had been visiting, had just left with her father. Both Harm and Mac were probably feeling a little euphoric after what they had just witnessed, so I'm sure that played a small part in what happened next."

Carolyn picked up the narration again. "Harm and Mac made a little deal, which I am very happy to report that they have kept, even if they didn't stick to the original timetable," she continued. "They agreed that if neither of them were involved in another relationship five years from that moment, then they would quote 'go halves on a kid' unquote. I believe those were the words that Mac said Harm used. Of course, I don't think either of them expected to get twins out of the deal."

"Oh, and we probably should mention that we tell you this story at great risk," Sydney joked. "Mac is probably wishing right now that she had gotten us to sign confidentiality agreements when she told us this story. Now, can't you all agree that this is the best Harm and Mac story?"

While the video continued, with various officers at JAG talking about Harm's last days there before returning to flying, Harm and Mac were dealing with a table of disbelieving family members.

"Frank, what happened to the son we raised?" Trish wondered. "I didn't think I had raised someone so dense. For four years, he won't admit that he's in love with Mac, but they'll agree to have a baby together."

"What about my niece?" Matt asked. "She's such a smart woman in most things, but sometimes I have wondered ..."

"Uncle Matt," Mac pleaded.

"Come on," Chloe insisted. "This is even better than what I said to Harm about your fantasies. Now, if you could just explain how you went from that to accepting another man's ring a few months later."

"Chloe, that's enough," Harm insisted firmly.

Carolyn stepped in to try and smooth the waters. "Like I said, they have kept their deal and fortunately, moved up the timetable. And most of you are getting two new family members out of the deal," she pointed out.

-----

"I am so glad this night is over," Mac proclaimed after most of the guests had left, leaving just family and the members of the wedding party in the tavern with the McMurphy's staff. "I was almost wishing for the strip joints and bailing you guys out of jail."

"So was I," Harm admitted.

"Well, the rest of us had fun," Chloe pointed out, smiling widely.

"Speaking of fun," Mac began, "Sydney ..."

"Colonel," AJ said, trying to sound stern while he was resisting the urge to laugh.

"With all due respect, Sir," Harm said, "we don't care if you are the JAG and her fiancé."

"And Carolyn," Mac continued, "all I have to say is God help you." She smiled as she said it, leaving Carolyn to wonder just how serious she was.

"Don't worry," Jack said, pulling Carolyn against his side, "I'll protect you from the big, bad Marine."

"My hero," she teased.

"Okay, on another note," Mac said, changing the subject, "I intend to sleep in tomorrow after this late night ..."

"Late?" Chloe exclaimed. "It's barely ten o'clock."

"These days, that is late for me," Mac replied. "The point is, Harm and I are not planning on leaving for Annapolis until ten, so we'd like to meet at the chapel around eleven. I want to make sure there are no last minute details to worry about, we'll go to lunch then rehearsal begins at one. Does everyone have transportation? Mom and Frank rented a minivan plus we have our SUV, which Uncle Matt will be driving back home for us." She looked at Jack, a question in her eyes.

"I'm okay," he assured her. "Carolyn and I are riding with Bud, Harriet, Alan and Jackie in the Roberts' minivan."

Chloe's grandmother spoke up. "We've already spoken to Trish about riding with them tomorrow," Martha said.

"AJ and I are taking his SUV," Sydney explained, "since we'll have Francesca and my son Danny with us."

"Since we know that everyone has a ride to the chapel," Harm continued, "is there anything else before we all call it a night?" Everyone shook their heads. "Then good night and we'll see everyone tomorrow morning."

-----

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

FRIDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER  
1305 ZULU  
HARM AND MAC'S HOUSE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Harm, did Keeter give you his dress whites?" Mac called up the stairs. She was pulling the garment bags with everyone's dress uniforms and the bridal dresses out of the foyer closet, only to discover that she was missing one set of Navy dress whites.

"No, why?" Harm called back.

"Because they're not here is why," Mac called.

Harm came down the stairs and stood behind her. "He probably has them with him," he said, his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure he will carry them to Annapolis."

"All dress uniforms were supposed to be given to me," Mac said, frustrated, "so that we don't have any missing uniforms like the last time." Pulling away from him, she turned and strode into the living room carrying the garment bags.

Sighing, Harm closed the closet door. "I would think if anything was going to happen, it would have happened by now," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Frank asked as he, Trish and Matt came down the stairs with their luggage for their stay in Annapolis.

"Mac's a little ... concerned that she doesn't have Keeter's dress whites," he explained. "When Bud and Harriet got married, my dress whites kind of disappeared a few days before the wedding and I didn't find them until the night before."

"So she wanted everyone's dress uniforms so that no one's got lost," Trish concluded, remembering the story Mac had told her a few weeks earlier about some of the events leading up to Bud and Harriet's wedding.

"Something like that," Harm agreed with a shrug. "She's just getting a little more upset about it than is really necessary."

As Trish opened her mouth to suggest that probably wasn't the best thing to say, a throw pillow came flying out of the living room, hitting Harm squarely in the chest. "Uh, you might want to rethink what you just said," Trish said weakly as Frank and Matt struggled to keep straight faces.

Harm was about to reply when the doorbell rang. Still holding the pillow, he walked over and yanked open the door to find Carolyn and Jack standing on the porch, Jack holding a garment bag in his hand.

"Carolyn said that you guys were transporting all the uniforms and dresses for the wedding party," Jack explained, handing Harm the bag with a smirk, "something about a certain someone's dress whites ending up in the hands of a male stripper last time. Anyway, we thought we'd drop these off on our way to Bud and Harriet's."

"You couldn't have brought these by about five minutes ago?" Harm complained softly as he draped the bag over his arm. He opened his mouth to call to Mac, but Trish shook her head.

"You've probably said enough for right now," she suggested softly. Louder, she called out, "Mac, darling, Jack just brought his dress whites by if you want to put them with the rest of the uniforms."

Mac came out of the living room, a smile on her face, as she greeted Jack and Carolyn sweetly, "Good morning. That you for bringing your uniform by, Keeter. I was just going through the uniforms and realized that I didn't have yours." Shooting Harm a dirty look, she took the garment bag from him and carried it into the living room.

"Why don't I walk you to your car?" Harm suggested, tossing the pillow he was still holding in the general direction of the living room before leaving the house, closing the door behind him.

"Mac's a little stressed out this morning, I take it," Jack said with a laugh as they walked to the driveway at the side of the house.

"Of course she's stressed," Carolyn retorted. "Harm probably is too if he'd only admit it. They're getting married in less than twenty-five hours. I think they're supposed to be stressed. So, Harm, what did you say to get Mac to throw that pillow at you?" She smiled impishly at him.

"What makes you think a) that I said anything and b) that Mac threw a pillow at me?" he asked.

"Well, people don't normally walk around the house carrying a throw pillow from the living room," Carolyn pointed out, "and your mom did say that you'd said enough already."

Harm looked at Jack as he replied, expecting that another man would understand. "I just suggested that she was getting a little more upset than necessary," he said. Jack just shrugged. How was he supposed to understand the inner workings of the mind of a pregnant bride-to-be.

"No wonder she hit you," Carolyn said dryly as she unlocked the passenger door of her car for Jack. "Anyway, will you relax? In about twenty-six hours it will be all over and you'll be a married man."

"It'll be over alright," Jack joked as he rolled down his window and pulled the door closed.

As she got in on the driver's side, Carolyn reached over and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Harm, do you still have the phone number for the hotel we're all staying at tonight? I think we need to book another room," she said, shooting Jack a mock threatening glance.

Jack turned and mouthed, "Women" at Harm. Harm simply smiled and shrugged. "We'll see you guys later," he said as Carolyn started the car and pulled out of the driveway.

Harm was about to turn and walk back to the front door when he heard the garage door open behind him. He turned around to see Mac opening the rear door of their SUV and Matt and Frank coming out of the house carrying the garment bags.

The rear seats having already been removed from the car, Mac laid the garment bags flat, carefully stacking them to one side. "Will that be enough room for our luggage?" she asked Harm as he walked up behind her.

"You don't know how much luggage you're taking on your honeymoon?" Matt asked, confused.

"Harm is doing the packing for our honeymoon," she explained. "If he told me what kind of clothes to pack, then I might get an idea where we are going and it's supposed to be a surprise."

"Yes, it's enough," Harm replied. "And you'll like this surprise. Trust me."

"Pretty confident there," she teased, all traces of her earlier annoyance gone.

"You liked my surprise a few weeks ago," he reminded her, pulling her into his arms, "when we went to the Eastern Shore." Forgetting that they weren't alone, he brushed his lips against hers as his hands roamed over her back.

"I think that's our cue to leave," Frank whispered to Matt. The two men turned and walked back into the house.

"I'm so glad that Sarah is so happy and settled," Matt said. "I – and my wife when she was still alive – tried to do as much as we could for Sarah, to set a good example for her, but I think it always worried me that she wouldn't let herself find the kind of happiness and contentment that we tried to show her. She certainly didn't with her first marriage. Then when I saw her and Harm together in Arizona, I knew that she could have all that if she would only let herself."

"Harm has had much the same problem, but for different reasons," Frank said. "He practically grew up overnight when his father was shot down and that one event has pretty much defined his life. That's why I was so supportive when he and Mac went to Russia a few years ago to find out what had happened to his father. Not because of what it would mean to Trish – or to me – but because I wanted him to find some peace and to be able to move on with his life.

"On top of that, I think Harm has always been afraid deep down that if he loves someone too much, they will leave him," Frank continued. "His father left and was shot down. He and Diane never could seem to connect with each other after Annapolis, but when they were ready to, she was murdered. And it's possible that he thinks that Trish left him, in a way, when she had his father declared dead and married me."

"And it took nearly losing Sarah before he was able to make himself take a chance and open up to her," Matt concluded, remembering Harm's confession at Leavenworth.

"Good morning, Frank, Uncle Matt," Chloe called out, bounding down the stairs. Matt had taken to Mac's little sister on sight and had insisted that she address him as 'Uncle Matt' also.

"Good morning, Chloe," Matt replied. "Where are your grandparents?"

"Packing," she replied merrily. "We're going to stay in Annapolis tomorrow night also then fly from there back to Vermont Sunday morning. Harm's grandmother is with them. She and Grandma have become very friendly."

"You have to get back to school," Matt stated.

"Yeah," Chloe replied glumly. The doorbell rang and Chloe was her usual perky self again. "I'll get it," she said, skipping to the door.

"She's quite the little bundle of energy," Frank commented.

"She is," Matt said, smiling. "She's been so good for Sarah and ..." he trailed off, the smile dropping from his face, when Chloe threw open the door and he saw the familiar face on the other side.

"Good morning," Chloe greeted the newcomer brightly. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Sarah Mackenzie or Matt O'Hara," the woman standing on the porch said nervously.

"Uncle Matt's right here," Chloe replied, turning towards him as Matt walked up to the open door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice.

Deanne was silent for a moment as her mind processed the fact that she was seeing her brother for the first time in seventeen years. Finally, she managed, "Well, Sarah told me when Joe died that you were in Leavenworth, so I finally got the courage to go out there and pay you a visit. Only, they told me that you'd been furloughed for a few days so you could attend your niece's wedding. I got one of the people there to give me the address where you'd be staying and I spent the rest of the money I had on me to buy a plane ticket out here."

"I'm not sure this is a very good idea, Deanne," Matt said.

"Look, I know that things were strained when Sarah and I parted the last time," Deanne said, "and if she doesn't want me around, I'll understand. But I would like to see her if she's here."

"What is everyone doing just standing around?" Mac asked as she and Harm came back into the house. "We're supposed to be leaving for Annapolis in twenty-four minutes and thirty-five seconds. Why are you just standing there with the door open?" She stopped suddenly when she saw the woman standing on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice shaking. Harm put his hands on her shoulders, trying to offer comfort as he recognized the woman from a picture Mac had once shown him even as he wondered how she had gotten there. Since Mac had not mentioned her mother since their disagreement earlier in the week, Harm had given up hope that she would decide to contact her and Mac was obviously very surprised to see her mother.

"Well, honestly, I wanted to see you," Deanne answered nervously. "I went to Leavenworth to see Matt, because I was hoping that he could help, I don't know, maybe bridge the gap between us."

"This is only the second time I've seen you since my fifteenth birthday," Mac pointed out, her voice suddenly cold. She had to keep her voice cold, keep her emotions under control. She couldn't risk letting herself open up with her mother. She didn't want to deal with the pain. "Why now? Why not sixteen months ago when we were in California?"

"I thought you needed time," Deanne said lamely.

"Time?" Mac echoed with disbelief. "Just how much time did you think I needed? I'd already had sixteen years between the time you left me with an abusive, alcoholic father and the last time I saw you. How much more time did you think I needed?"

"Sarah, I know this probably isn't the best timing ..." Deanne began.

"The best timing?" Mac retorted angrily. "What makes you think ..."

"Harm," Trish broke in, "why don't you and Mac go upstairs and finish getting everything together? You did want to get on the road in about twenty minutes, right?"

"Mom, I don't think ..." he began.

"Harmon David Rabb," Trish said firmly, "Mac needs some time to collect herself. She's already stressed out and I don't want her to say something she might regret later." Mac opened her mouth, about to speak, but Trish shook her head. "Darling, stress isn't good for the babies and you need to think about all this before you react to it. Just go upstairs, take some deep breaths and calm down. Maybe lie down for a few minutes."

Reluctantly, Mac nodded, knowing Trish was right. She allowed Harm to lead her upstairs. Trish turned her attention to Chloe next. "Chloe, why don't you go help your grandparents finish packing?" she suggested. After seeing the way Trish had firmly sent Harm and Mac upstairs, Chloe wasn't about to argue with her and she also went back upstairs.

Trish turned to Deanne. "Would you like something to drink, Mrs. Mackenzie?" she asked.

"No, maybe I should go," Deanne replied, looking like she was ready to bolt. "Sarah's probably right; this isn't a good time."

"Nonsense," Trish insisted, closing the front door and leading Deanne into the living room, Frank and Matt trailing behind. She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to her. Deanne sat down nervously. "Just before you arrived, Mac was stressed out over dress uniforms. If you'd shown up any other day but today, I can't guarantee she wouldn't have had the same reaction, but today I don't want her to say or do something she may regret later when all the excitement's over and she has a chance to think about it."

"I don't know," Deanne said hesitantly. She felt out of place. She thought it was obvious that her daughter didn't want her around and Matt may be her brother, but she was under no illusions about where his loyalties lay and they weren't with her. As for the couple whom were obviously the parents of her daughter's fiancé – the husband had been quiet so far, seemingly content to let his wife take the lead. As for her, although she struck Deanne as a nice enough woman, what would a woman whose clothes looked like they cost more than Deanne made in a month understand about her problems?

"Deanne, Trish is probably right," Matt told his sister. He knew his sister well enough to know that she was probably feeling overwhelmed and felt the need to try and smooth the waters. After all, she had gone through the trouble, despite the time that had passed, to seek her daughter out. "Sarah's not herself today. Stay. Let's give her a chance to get settled a little bit and see if she feels any differently."

"I suppose," Deanne reluctantly agreed, taking a deep breath. She did want to try to make a new start with her daughter. That had been the main reason behind her trip to Leavenworth in the first place.

"Good," Trish declared. "You can ride to Annapolis with us. Mac and Harm are riding in their own car, so it will give both of you a chance to think about things."

"Annapolis?" Deanne asked, not remembering in all the excitement Mac's earlier statement about leaving for Annapolis. "Why there?"

"Harm's an Academy graduate," Trish explained. She paused, suddenly realizing. "I'm sorry, it just occurred to me that I've been going on and haven't even introduced myself. I'm Trish Burnett and this is my husband Frank. We're Harm's parents, your daughter's future in-laws."

"Deanne Mackenzie," Deanne replied automatically, if a bit hesitantly. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of the take charge Trish Burnett. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Trish assured her. She continued the introductions. "The young girl you saw earlier is Chloe Madison. Mac met her through a mentoring program and Chloe's like a sister to her. She's going to be the flower girl tomorrow. Her father's on a destroyer deployed out in the Pacific, so she lives most of the time with her grandparents, Martha and David Anderson, in Vermont. I'll introduce you to them when they come back downstairs."

"If they come back downstairs," Frank said dryly. "You know you put the fear of God into Harm and Chloe. They'll probably call down to ask permission before showing their faces again."

"I am just trying to make sure everything runs smoothly," Trish reminded him. "Someone has to be the voice of reason. God knows, things are going to be crazy enough today as it is."

"You would have made a good Marine, Trish," Matt complimented her.

"Comes from being a military wife," she replied. She explained to Deanne, "My first husband, Harm's father, was a Navy pilot. He was away more than he was home, so I was the one who held everything together back home, even before he went MIA and I was left alone to raise a six-year-old."

"I remember what it was like being a military wife," Deanne commented quietly. Suddenly, she had a new appreciation for Trish. It took a strong person to be a single parent, even when she knew that her husband would eventually be coming through the front door. But it took an exceptional person to take on the role of single parent permanently. It was a role Deanne knew she was not cut out for.

"Of course you do," Trish said, smiling in an attempt to put Deanne at ease. The woman struck her as scared as a rabbit. Then again, Trish reflected, if she'd been in the same position of wanting to make peace with a child she'd barely spoke to in seventeen years, she'd probably be jittery, too. "I seem to recall it being mentioned that Mac's father was in the Marine Corps also."

Deanne didn't really want to think about Joseph Mackenzie, so she decided to change the subject. "So, Mrs. Burnett ..." she began, until stopped by a wave of Trish's hand.

"Please, call me Trish," she insisted. "We are practically going to be family."

"Okay ... Trish," she started again. Despite her first impression, she found herself liking Trish more and more every minute. "Why don't you tell me about your son? What kind of man is my daughter marrying tomorrow?"

Trish smiled brightly. Like any proud mother, her son was perhaps her favorite topic of conversation. "Hmmm," she began, "Harm was a normal enough child – at least for one whose father was gone for months at a time. Despite that, his father was his hero. He wanted to be just like him when he grew up. That feeling only intensified when we found out that Harmon had been shot down over Vietnam Christmas Eve 1969. He was just two months past his sixth birthday and it was as if he'd aged decades overnight."

She paused in her recollections, remembering the little boy who'd tried so hard to be strong for her. She smiled sadly as she continued, "Because Harmon was MIA, my son became obsessed with the idea that his father might still be alive somewhere. As a result, he took it very hard when his father was declared dead after seven years and I married Frank. For years, Harm was – now, I don't mean to sound harsh – resentful of Frank."

"Which was perfectly understandable given the circumstances," Frank interrupted. "He needed closure, just as much as you did. That's why I financed their trip to Russia a few years ago. Anyway, Deanne, Harm and I are long past that. I've always loved him like a son and although I'll never replace his father in his eyes, I'm not the wicked stepfather anymore. We've really come a long way, especially in the last few months."

Deanne had to admit to herself that she was impressed with Frank Burnett and his defense of his stepson. Not many men would have stayed in a situation with a resentful stepson, let alone think of him as his own son. Unlike her daughter, who had been betrayed by both her parents, Harm appeared to her to have been lucky in having not just two, but three parents who had loved him dearly.

"Anyway," Trish continued, "when he was sixteen, Harm ran away to Vietnam, trying to find information about his father. I'll admit, Frank took it a lot better than I did when he was brought home. The following year, Harm graduated high school and followed his father to the Naval Academy then to flight school. I thought that, having achieved his dream of following in his father's footsteps, he would finally be able to put his obsession with his father behind him. For a while, it seemed that he had. He loved the Navy and loved to fly. It scared me a little, I'll admit, every time I heard that there was some action somewhere. But then I'd hear from him and he'd be safe and sound."

She paused again, remembering the terror she'd felt when she'd received the call about her son's accident. Until she'd reached Landstuhl and had been able to see for herself that he was going to survive, she'd been terrified that he'd be just like his father in every way. "Then, just before the Gulf War started, Frank and I received word that Harm had been medevac'd to Landstuhl Hospital in Germany. He'd been coming in for a landing on a carrier at night in bad weather and had crashed into the deck. His RIO had been killed and Harm barely survived himself. It was determined that Harm suffered from night blindness and that had caused him to misjudge the landing. As a result, he was told he could never fly as part of an active squadron again."

Sensing how upset she was as she recalled Harm's accident, Frank patted his wife's knee and picked up the narration. "When Harm was finally released from the hospital, he went to his grandmother's farm in Pennsylvania to decide what he was going to do. For a while, we all thought he would decide to leave the Navy, but eventually he announced that he had applied and been accepted into the Navy's Law School Program, where they would pay for him to attend law school. After that, he was stationed at JAG headquarters where he's been ever since, except for a brief return to flying, which is another story in itself."

"I take it that's where he met Sarah?" Deanne inquired.

Trish nodded, taking up the story again, calmer now. "Little more than a year after he joined JAG, he received a medal in a ceremony at the White House. Afterwards, in the Rose Garden, he met his new partner just before they were sent to Arizona to investigate the theft of the Declaration of Independence."

"And I assume the new partner was Sarah," Deanne said. Deanne didn't really consider herself a romantic, but a couple meeting in a rose garden screamed 'Fate'. An expression of shock crossed her face as she remembered something Mac had told her in California. "Matt, didn't Sarah tell me you were in Leavenworth for stealing the Declaration of Independence?"

"Yes," he replied. "That was the case. Long story, but the short version is that Harm and Sarah convinced me to turn myself in and thanks to Harm, who served as my lawyer, I got a lighter sentence than I should have expected under the circumstances. In fact, I'm actually eligible for parole after the first of the year and Harm's pretty confident that I'll get it."

"As for the last four years," Trish said with a smile, "the best way for you to understand that is to show you the videotape that was shown last night at the engagement party. Basically, the people closest to Harm and Mac were filmed discussing their relationship. It's actually quite ... humorous." Trish broke at laughing on the last word.

"Yes, you should see the tape," Matt agreed, winking, "but I think maybe we should give you a little preview."

"The baby story!" Trish, Frank and Matt all exclaimed at once, laughing.

Trish turned her head to take a quick peek in the hallway as if checking for eavesdroppers, then began, "One of the things you have to understand about Harm and Mac is that for the longest time they refused to admit their feelings. They are the best of friends, they flirted with each other and have been to hell and back both with and for each other, but they never would admit that they were in love with each other. Which was the point behind the making of this videotape, since just about everyone who'd ever seen them together knew that they were made for each other. 

"Anyway, two friends of theirs had a baby sixteen months ago. Harm and Mac had been best man and maid of honor at their wedding and are godparents to their son. Apparently, Harriet, the mother, went into labor at work and she delivered at JAG in the Admiral's office with no doctor, just her husband, Harm, Mac and the Admiral present. After it was all over, Harm and Mac made a little deal. In five years, if neither was in a relationship, they were going to have a baby together."

Deanne started laughing, "You can't be ..." She trailed off when she saw them nod. "You're serious," she exclaimed.

"Oh, yes," Trish insisted.

"So how did things progress from there to where they are now?" Deanne asked.

"Eventually they did admit their feelings and became involved," Trish replied. "Harm had invited Mac up to his grandmother's for the Fourth of July and they took Chloe, who was visiting at the time, with them. When my mother-in-law was first informed by Harm that he would be bringing Mac with him, she was ecstatic. By that time, I think just about everyone had given up hope on them getting together. She suggested that Frank and I come out to Pennsylvania to surprise Harm and Mac, whom we hadn't had a chance to meet yet although she was just about all our son ever talked about."

Frank continued, "The surprise, however, was on us. Mac had been tired more than usual recently, so we found out later, and Harm suggested that she might be pregnant. They'd apparently been talking about having a baby since they'd been together; I just think they didn't expect it to happen quite that soon. And we arrived just as they were finding out the results of a home pregnancy test."

"Now I haven't heard this story," Matt interjected. "When Harm came to see me in Leavenworth when he was about to propose, he just said she was pregnant. He didn't tell me the rest."

"Needless to say, we were shocked," Trish said. "We've waited for them to get together for four years and we find out that not only are they together, we're going to be grandparents. But we are thrilled – especially since we're getting two grandchildren."

"Two? I don't ... wait, earlier you told Sarah that stress wasn't good for the babies," Deanne said. "She's going to have twins?"

"Yes, a boy and a girl," Trish confirmed. She laughed for a moment, then explained, "There's a story there also, which you'll find out is usually the case with Harm and Mac. There's always a story and it's usually a good one. They've already picked out names. The boy is going to be named after Harm's father and Matt and the girl is going to be named after Harm's grandmother and me."

Deanne thought for moment. "You called your husband Harmon earlier," she realized. "So the boy will be Harmon Matthew."

"But he won't be named after Harm," Trish said, drawing a puzzled glance from Deanne. "He was quite insistent on that point. In fact, he had suggested going with Matthew Harmon, but Mac insisted, arguing that was the only way he was going to get his choice of name for their daughter."

"What my wife has forgotten to tell you," Frank explained, "is that Harm's grandmother's name is Sarah, so the girl will be Sarah Patricia."

"Let me guess," Deanne concluded, "she's not being named after her mother and Sarah was insistent on that point."

"Exactly," Trish proclaimed, "although I think they are going to call the boy Matt to avoid confusion. The girl, from what I understand, will remain Sarah since most everyone calls your daughter 'Mac' anyway."

"Mom?" Harm called out. Everyone turned to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway, while Frank shot his wife a humorous 'I told you so' glance. "I've just been informed that we are now four minutes and thirty-seven seconds late in leaving and that it's time quote – to get our sixes in gear – unquote." He stepped out of the way as Chloe came racing down the stairs, followed by her grandparents and Harm's grandmother.

"Everyone, come here," Trish insisted. "There's someone I want you to meet. Everyone, this is Deanne Mackenzie, Mac's mother. Deanne, this is Chloe Madison, her grandparents Martha and David Anderson, my mother-in-law Sarah Rabb and my son Harm."

Everyone shook hands with Deanne, ending with Harm, who said, "It's nice to finally meet you, Ma'am."

Deanne was struck by how polite he was, considering what her daughter must have told him about her. Her daughter had obviously avoided her mother's mistakes and found herself a really good man. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too," she replied sincerely. "Your parents have just been telling me about you, Harm."

Harm turned suspicious eyes on his parents. "And what exactly have you told her?" he asked.

"Oh, we left out most of the good stories about you and Mac," Trish answered with a wide smile. "We did promise to show her the tape, but we did tell her one story about you two."

Harm would have bet a month's pay on which story that was. He made a mental note to help Mac kill Sydney and Carolyn. They were never going to hear the end of this one. "Mom," he complained.

"What's wrong?" Mac asked, walking up behind him. Any traces of her earlier anger appeared to be gone. In face, her expression appeared to be completely devoid of emotion.

"My parents have just been telling your mother stories," he explained, chagrined. "One story in particular, as a matter of fact."

"That's it," Mac declared, only half kidding. "After I kill Sydney and Carolyn and have to replace half my bridal party, I say we stage a covert op to steal the original of that tape from Clay."

Trish explained to Deanne, "The tape's that good. Sensing that they might be a bit embarrassed by some of the stories on the tape, Sydney – whose idea it was – gave the original to a friend of Harm and Mac's who works for the CIA. He's keeping the tape safe and secure."

"As fascinating as this is," Mac said, rolling her eyes, "we need to get the cars packed and get going. From upstairs, I saw the Admiral pull out. We don't need him getting to Annapolis and having to send out search parties."

"Then I guess I should get going," Deanne said, starting to stand.

Mac only hesitated a moment. "Stay," she said quietly.

Deanne looked at Mac, shocked, not quite sure she had heard her correctly. Mac repeated herself, "Stay – or rather, come with us to Annapolis. You should be at the wedding tomorrow."

Deanne nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if she wasn't entirely sure that Mac's motive didn't more to do with not creating a scene in front of everyone by ordering her mother to leave rather than actually wanting her at the wedding.

-----

1510 ZULU  
CATHEDRAL OF THE NAVY  
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

They arrived at the chapel only a few minutes late, but the rest of the JAG staff was already there. Everyone was split into two groups, with some of them carrying things into the chapel while the other group was busy going in and out of the O Club.

Mac climbed out of the SUV and immediately began stretching, glad to be out of the car while Harm began unloading the uniforms and bridal gowns from the back. AJ walked up to him.

"I was beginning to think we were going to have to send a team after you," he commented, only half joking. He'd actually had visions of Harm and Mac getting tired of all the hoopla and deciding to run off and elope. "It's good that you're here now. The chapel wedding coordinator has been looking for you and Mac."

"Problems?" Harm asked, beginning to get a sinking feeling. Of course, with them, not everything could go off as planned.

"I'm sure it's nothing," AJ tried to reassure him as Mac joined them.

"What's nothing?" she asked.

"Mary, the wedding coordinator, just need to talk to you two," AJ informed her. "She just probably wants to go over some last-minute details."

Mac took off in the direction of the chapel doors, all kinds of scenarios running through her mind on what might be going wrong. She ran into Mary just short of the steps leading to the front door. "What exactly is the problem?" Mac demanded in her best no-nonsense Marine tone.

"It's nothing earth-shattering," Mary quickly tried to reassure her. She'd had years of experience dealing with last minute nerves from brides and grooms. "It's just that the chapel pianist had a family emergency and our back-up musician isn't available either."

"Are you trying to tell me that we aren't going to have any music during the ceremony tomorrow?" Mac asked, frustrated. Of course, things were going wrong. Sometimes she thought they lived their lives by Murphy's law.

"No, she's not saying that," Harm said soothingly, rubbing Mac shoulders. He had immediately taken off after her, hoping to prevent her from snapping someone's head off. "Mary, what can we do?"

"Well, I had thought that maybe we could ask one of the midshipmen to play," Mary replied, "but with the football game tomorrow, most of the students will be at the game and we can't exactly order one of them to play."

Harm considered the situation for a moment, trying to think of a solution. Surely, they had to know someone who played ... suddenly an idea struck. Looking around, he spotted Bud not far away and waved him over. "Bud, have you seen Webb this morning?" he asked.

"No, Sir," Bud replied, shifting baby AJ on his hip. "But I assume he will be here soon since he is doing one of the readings during the ceremony. Do you need him for something?"

"The chapel pianist had an emergency," Harm explained. Bud nodded in response, understanding what Harm was getting at.

"I don't understand," Mac said, still a little frustrated. What could Clay do in this situation?

"Clay is going to be our new pianist," Harm explained.

Mac vaguely recalled Harm telling her once that Clay played the piano. Satisfied that problem was solved, her mind latched onto a new one. "So where is he?" she asked, her arms folded across her chest. "He's supposed to be here for the rehearsal."

Harm wasn't about to argue that he was probably on his way or that the rehearsal wasn't scheduled to start for nearly two hours. "Bud, why don't you give Webb's cell phone a call and find out where he is?" he suggested. "Let him know that we have need of his skills as a musician."

"Yes, Sir," Bud said, rushing off to comply. Remembering how much Mac and Harm had helped ease frazzled nerves before his own wedding, he was more than willing to do everything he could to make sure everything ran smoothly over the next twenty-four hours.

"Is there anything else that requires our attention right now?" Harm asked Mary.

"Not at the moment," she replied, looking down at her checklist. "Everything else seems to be running pretty smoothly. Your friends all seem to have everything well in hand."

"They have been a Godsend getting everything put together this quickly," Harm pointed out.

"Then, I'll be around," Mary said. "Just give me a shout if you need anything."

"Thank you," Harm replied.

"Yes, thank you," Mac said. Mary smiled and, patting Mac's arm, headed into the chapel.

"Okay, why don't we check on everything, make sure it's running smoothly?" Harm suggested. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Until the next crisis arises," Mac muttered.

-----

"Good morning, everyone," Sydney greeted Harm and Mac's families as she joined them and AJ. "We were beginning to get a little worried. We'd expected you guys to be the first ones here."

"We had a little excitement this morning," Trish explained. She motioned Deanne over. "AJ, Sydney, this is Deanne Mackenzie, Mac's mother. Deanne, this is Admiral AJ Chegwidden and his fiancée Dr. Sydney Walden."

"It's nice to meet you," AJ said, holding out his hand, which Deanne shook hesitantly. He sensed that she was a bit uncomfortable and tried to make her feel welcome. "Your daughter is one of my finest officers. I'm glad that you could make it for the wedding."

"Thank you," Deanne replied. Sydney held out her hand next.

"Yes, it's good to meet you," Sydney said as they shook hands. She probably knew a little more than AJ about the history between Mac and her mother, but if Deanne was here, there had to be some easing of tensions there.

"I just had an idea," Trish said. "Deanne, do you have a dress to wear tomorrow?"

"No, I hadn't expected to be coming out here to attend a wedding," she explained.

"We can take care of that," Trish insisted. "The rehearsal doesn't start until one, so why don't Sydney and I take you shopping and the three of us can grab some lunch."

"I don't know," Deanne said, "I don't have any money."

"Not a problem," Matt insisted. "Trish, just let me know how much the dress costs and I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it, Matt," she replied, waving him off. "I'm happy to do this. Frank, do you need the van for anything?"

"No," he replied, handing her the keys to their rental. "I'll just hang around here and help out where I can while you're gone."

-----

1550 ZULU  
ANNAPOLIS FORMAL  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Is everything alright?" Sydney asked Trish while they were waiting for Deanne to emerge from the dressing room. Trish and Sydney had quickly helped her pick out several dresses to try on, brushing off her protests when she had worried about the prices. "Mac's mother doesn't seem like she's entirely sure she wants to be here."

"I don't think it's that so much as she's worried that Mac doesn't want her here," Trish replied. "When she first showed up this morning, Mac wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind."

"But she came with you to Annapolis, which I assume was okay with Mac," Sydney pointed out.

"Mac did agree," Trish confided softly, not wanting to risk hurting Deanne's feelings by her overhearing their conversation, "but I'm a little concerned that her agreement may have had more to do with not making a scene in front of everyone by kicking her mother out. Then again, she's been a little on edge today, so I don't think even Mac is sure what she is feeling."

"Is that why you're going out of your way to make Deanne feel welcome?" Sydney asked, picking up a fashion magazine and idly flipping through it.

"Deanne told us that she had gone to Leavenworth to see Matt," Trish explained, "hoping that he could help her reestablish a relationship with Mac. She found out there that he was here and spent the last of the money she had on her to buy a plane ticket out here."

"I guess that has to count for something," Sydney said.

"She does seem to be trying," Trish pointed out, "so I'd hate to see Mac push her mother away in the heat of the moment without taking the time to think about what she's doing. When we talked about it a few days ago, Mac did seem at least willing to consider the possibility of contacting her mother."

"So this topic has come up."

Trish took a deep breath and continued, "Harm asked Victor Galindez to track Deanne down a few weeks ago. He wanted Mac to have the option of contacting her and inviting her to the wedding. Initially, it didn't go over too well when Mac found out, but when I talked to her afterwards, she seemed to feel a little better about the idea."

"I hope it works out," Sydney said, not sounding too confident. "It would be great if it did, but I'd hate to see Mac get hurt again."

"You really care about her a lot," Trish commented.

Sydney shrugged. "She's always struck me as someone who could use someone to talk to," she explained. "When I first met her, she was going through a rough patch and she seemed a little ... lost, for lack of a better word. From what I later heard from AJ and from Mac herself, Harm and Mac were rather strained at the time and he was usually the one she turned to when she needed someone to talk to."

"Harm told me a little about that time. That's when she was considering marrying that Australian officer, wasn't it?" Trish asked.

Sydney nodded her confirmation. She was about to add something when Deanne came out of the dressing room. Trish and Sydney both smiled. "Deanne, that dress looks wonderful on you," Sydney enthused.

Trish agreed, "Yes, it does. Did you want to try on any of the other dresses?"

"Well, I picked this one to try on first because I thought I would look best in it," Deanne admitted, pleased with their positive reaction. "It's been a long time since I've had anything really nice like this."

"Then I'd say you have good taste," Trish said encouragingly, "and I'd say that you deserve to have nice clothes and pamper yourself."

Deanne got very quiet and sat down in an empty chair. "I don't understand why you're doing this for me," she said quietly. "You barely know me and I can't imagine that what you have been told about me is very flattering."

Trish and Sydney were silent for a moment, both pondering how best to phrase their responses. Finally, Trish spoke in a gentle tone, "True, but I don't consider myself a judgmental person. I've been very lucky to have two of the best husbands that a woman could ask for, but as I told Mac the other day, I can't say with absolute certainty that I wouldn't have done the same thing if I'd been in your situation."

"Agreed," Sydney added. "It's like that old saying about not really understanding someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. We can't possibly understand what you've been through, so how can we possibly judge you?" She paused for a moment, pondering how to put what she wanted to say next. She decided just to say it outright, considering herself a pretty straight forward person. "Tell me something, Deanne. Do you love your daughter?"

"Yes, of course I do," she replied without hesitation, despite being startled by the question. "I know I have a strange way of showing it, but ..."

"Don't worry about that," Sydney insisted, waving her off. "The point I'm trying to make is we all love Mac and want to see her happy. And if you're as serious as you seem to be about making a new start with her, then how can we not encourage that? None of us can say with certainty that it will work out, but if it does, then both you and Mac will have gained something beyond measure."

"Not only will you regain a daughter," Trish pointed out, "you'll get two grandchildren out of the bargain and Mac will have gotten her mother back and a grandmother for her children."

-----

1650 ZULU  
CATHEDRAL OF THE NAVY  
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Everything seems to be going relatively well," Frank commented to Matt and AJ while they were standing in the aisle waiting for the rehearsal to start. Harm and Mac were going over some last-minute details on the format of the ceremony with Captain Duncan, the chaplain. The rest of the JAG staff was sitting in the front pews, going over Harriet's own checklist of things to do. Clay, having been cornered by Harm upon his arrival, was in the choir alcove, going over the sheet music he had been handed for the ceremony. Although Clay wasn't about to admit it, it hadn't taken too much arm twisting by Harm to get him to agree to play piano during the ceremony. Trish, Sydney and Deanne had just arrived back from their shopping expedition, Deanne looking more relaxed than she had since she had first shown up on Harm and Mac's doorstep.

"Agreed," AJ concurred. "Harm seems to have been able to keep Mac calm for the most part, the problem with the pianist was solved with little fuss, Mac's mother seems more at ease, nobody's uniforms are missing and no other problems seem to have developed."

"Here's hoping all continues to go well," Matt declared, watching his sister out of the corner of his eye. She seemed genuinely determined to try with Mac and while Matt did not condone what Deanne had done in the past, if she really could make it work, then he was determined to be happy for her and Mac. "By the way, Deanne and I spoke for a moment when they got back and she said Trish and Sydney have both made her feel very welcome here."

"I don't know if you're aware of this," Frank told Matt, "but the subject of whether or not to contact Deanne and invite her to the wedding came up a few days ago. Mac was initially resistant to the idea – in fact, she and Harm fought about it, but Trish was a big help in smoothing things over from Mac's end. I will admit that I thought Trish was being a bit optimistic in thinking there could be a new start with them, but Deanne showing up on her own the way she did this morning has made me rethink that."

"All Sarah has ever really wanted is to be loved," Matt revealed, knowing that probably wasn't news to the other men. "I think that Deanne making the choice to come here will go a ways in convincing Sarah to give her a chance." He noticed activity out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Deanne and Mac having an intense discussion with Harm, Trish and Sydney all hovering nearby. He was concerned that something was wrong when he noticed that Deanne appeared to be crying, but then he was shocked when Mac suddenly hugged her mother. Leaving AJ and Frank where they were, Matt headed for the front of the sanctuary to see what was going on.

"Looks like things are going to work out on that front after all," AJ commented, noting the relaxed expressions on Mac and Deanne's faces. But Frank wasn't paying attention. AJ turned to see what had caught his eye. Frank was looking at the eternal flame burning in the middle of the tenth pew with a thoughtful expression.

"The flame is to honor POWs and MIAs," AJ explained.

"I wonder ..." Frank began, pensive. He saw Captain Duncan heading in their direction and motioned the chaplain over. "Captain, I have a request," he said, briefly explaining the story of Harm's father and about his idea. The chaplain nodded in agreement when Frank was finished.

"I don't see why not, Mr. Burnett," he said. "I'll admit it's an unusual request, but I don't have a problem with it, especially under the circumstances. I'm sure your son will be pleased with the idea."

"Actually, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything," Frank said, "about it being my idea anyway."

"If that's how you want it," Duncan agreed as Matt rejoined them. "The candles that the mothers carry are lit before the ceremony actually begins, so that part won't be covered during the rehearsal and I can leave out the explanation when we get to the lighting of the unity candle until the actual ceremony tomorrow. I'll just have to remember to make a note to myself so I don't forget to mention it tomorrow."

"Thanks, Captain, I appreciate this," Frank said, shaking the chaplain's hand. Seeing the curiosity on Matt's face, he held up his hand, indicating for him to wait a moment. Frank then called Trish over.

Once she arrived, he explained his idea, bringing tears to his wife's eyes. "Oh, Frank," she said, blinking back the tears, "that's a beautiful gesture. Thank you, from both of us."

"Speaking of the candle lighting," Matt said, "that's what was going on over there. The original plan was that I would carry the candle to represent Sarah's family during the ceremony, but she just asked Deanne to do it."

"That's definitely a good sign," Frank commented, his hand on his wife's shoulder, offering comfort. "I wonder what brought that on."

"I spoke to Harm privately," Trish explained, "and he was as surprised as the rest of us. He said Mac hadn't said anything about it before she brought to subject up with Deanne."

"I'm feeling very good about this," Trish said. "Very good."

-----

2250 ZULU  
PUSSER'S LANDING RESTAURANT  
MARRIOTT WATERFRONT HOTEL  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" AJ announced, taping his fork against his water glass. All conversation around the table stopped and everyone looked at him expectantly.

"A few general announcements first," he continued. "For those of you who are not supposed to see each other after 2359 hours, there will be bed check at precisely midnight to ensure that everyone is where they are supposed to be." He paused, letting the laughter around the table run its course.

"Second, the limo to take the bridal party to the Yard will be out front at 0800 in the morning," he said. "The bride would appreciate everyone concerned being on time. Everyone else will be leaving from the hotel no later than 0845. Is there anything else?" He looked around the table before continuing, "Since no one has anything else, Lieutenant Sims would like to say something."

As AJ sat back down, Harriet stood, picking up a shopping bag off the floor and setting it on her chair. "First, I just wanted to say, on behalf of the staff at JAG ops, how happy we are that this day has finally arrived. Most of us, especially those who have been around since the beginning, wondered at times if this day would ever come. We just want to say how happy we all are that the Colonel and Commander have finally found each other and have created a family together."

"Harriet," Mac said, drawing out her name.

Harriet laughed. "I believe that is my cue to call them Harm and Mac," she joked. "Anyway, we all got together and got the two of you some gifts. A few of them are, well, not really gag gifts, but humorous. But we also did get you one gift which is your wedding gift from the entire JAG staff. Gunny, Tiner."

The two enlisted men got up and brought a large, flat wrapped package around the table to Harm and Mac. Tearing off the brown paper, they revealed a framed oil painting of the White House Rose Garden. "It's beautiful," Mac proclaimed. "Thank you, everyone."

"Yes, thank you," Harm echoed, kissing Mac's temple. "This is a very nice gift."

"Actually, Sir, you can thank your mother also," Harriet told him. "We all wanted to get you something, but we were having a hard time coming up with what we thought would be an appropriate gift. Dr. Walden mentioned it to your mother in passing once and she found this in a gallery and helped us get it for you."

"Thank you, Mom," Harm said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"I was happy to help out," she replied. "If Frank and I hadn't already gotten your gift, we might have picked the painting up ourselves."

"Now, the rest of the gifts are humorous," Harriet said, pulling two wrapped shirt boxes out of the shopping bag. She checked the tags on the boxes before handing them to Harm and Mac. "There's one for each of you – actually, two for you, Ma'am. One that you can wear during your pregnancy and one for when you're not."

Harm got his box opened first and laughed when he saw what was inside. He leaned over to watch while Mac got her gift opened. "Now you can stop stealing clothes from my drawers," he teased.

"As if any self respecting Marine would be caught dead wearing anything that says 'US Navy' across the front," Mac retorted, lifting a t-shirt out of her box. It was navy blue with 'Property of the United States Navy' emblazoned across the front in white lettering.

"Oh, then you won't mind returning my Navy sweatshirt that you've had ever since that incident with Webb at the Baltimore shipyards," he commented with a grin.

"Not on your life," she retorted as she leaned over to inspect his gift. "Oh, now this I like." She lifted a t-shirt similar to hers out of the box, his maroon with white letters. "'Property of the United States Marine Corps,' how cute," she teased him. "I've been thinking about getting you some stuff that says 'Marine Corps' on it."

"You would think so," he commented dryly. "So who do we have to thank for these?"

"That would be Gunny and Tiner, Sir," Harriet revealed while Mac sighed dramatically.

"Lieutenant, repeat after me," Mac ordered. "Harm, Mac. It's not that hard to remember."

"Sorry, Ma'am – I mean Mac," Harriet said, laughing. "And for those of you who haven't been around as long, my husband and I have been hearing that on and off for as long as we've known Harm and Mac. See, I can say it. Harm and Mac. Anyway, moving on, we have one more gift for each of you and since this was her idea, I'll let Jackie explain."

"This is based on a gift that was given to me by some of the other officers' wives when Alan and I got married," Jackie explained as Harriet handed the gifts across the table to Harm and Mac. "It was originally written with the Army wife in mind, so it's been modified slightly for the Navy. And since Harm is going to be a military spouse also, Harriet and I had a lot of fun modifying it for him."

"I'm afraid to ask," Mac said, shaking her head as she opened her gift, pulling out a framed document and studying it. "Military wedding vows," she read, skimming over the rest. Laughing, she leaned over to read Harm's. "Oh, this is cute, especially since someone, as his first duty as military liaison, somehow got roped into going to Russia as soon as we get back from our honeymoon and I get to experience married life without my husband after being married only two weeks."

"Oh, how did that happen?" Sydney asked. Being probably the least experienced person present as far as knowledge about how the military works, Sydney couldn't conceive that Harm would be sent away on assignment that soon.

"The International Institute for Military Jurisprudence was asked by someone in the Kremlin to send a liaison to Russia for a few weeks to study their military codes and offer suggestions for improvement in their laws and procedures," Harm explained. "Some of my new colleagues on the Hill thought that since their new military liaison is a lawyer that I would be the perfect person for this assignment. So I won't even be home long enough to get over my jet lag before I'm off to Moscow. Of course, the joke is that my wife is the one who is fluent in Russian."

"Oh, so we're going somewhere for our honeymoon that can cause jet lag?" Mac questioned, curious as she immediately picked up on his offhanded comment about their honeymoon. "Just how many time zones will we be crossing?"

Harm shook his head, grinning as he told everyone, "She's been trying to get the location out of me for weeks now. So far, I've been resisting all her efforts."

"Oh, you are bad," she teased, smacking his arm lightly. "Better watch it or the Admiral won't need to conduct bed check tonight."

"Ouch," Harm said, shooting her a dirty look as he pulled away from her.

"So what exactly are the 'Military Wedding Vows'?" Sydney asked. "I mean, from a practical standpoint, since I will be a military spouse soon, what is expected of me?"

"Does everyone want me to read it?" Mac asked. Seeing everyone's nods, she began, "Dear family and friends, we are gathered here today in the sight of God and the Department of the Navy, to witness this exchange of vows, and see the love that these two dedicated, loving people have for one another.

"Wilt thou, Harmon, take Sarah (who was once referred to as the 'dependent'), as your family member, to dwell together in so far as the Department of the Navy will permit? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, via the postal service or over the phone, make sure she knows where the commissary, exchange, and church are, and what time she is scheduled to use the laundry room the day she arrives, wherever you are stationed?"

"Of course, that last part assumes you live on base," Jackie pointed out. "Especially overseas. Stairwell living, ugh." She shuddered at the thought.

Mac continued, "Wilt thou attempt to tell her more than 24 hours in advance that you will be leaving for two weeks, beginning the next morning? This especially applies to the years you will live in a foreign country!

"Wilt thou Sarah, take this sailor as thy wedded husband, knowing that he is depending upon you to be the perfect (well almost) Navy wife, running the household as you see fit, and being nice to the commander's wife? Furthermore, you understand that your life with your husband (little that you may have together) will not be normal, that you may have to explain to your children, not once, but twice, and more often in the same day, that mothers do have husbands, and that children do have daddies, and that the picture of the man on the refrigerator is not the milkman, but the same individual who tucks them in at 2200 hours, long after they are asleep. This sailor is their daddy, who loves them very, very much.

"Wilt thou love, respect and wait for him, preparing his favorite cookies and pictures of yourself and the kids, so he can remember what you look like? And last but not least, put on the outside of your door his 'Welcome home' sign when he's due to arrive?

"I, Harmon, take thee Sarah, as my independent wife, from 1900 to 2200 hours or as long as allowed by my Commanding Officer (subject to change without notice), for better or worse, earlier or later, near or far, and I promise to look at the pictures you send me, maybe not when they get to me in the field, but before I turn the lights out. I will also send a letter, if time permits, and if not, to somehow, some way, make the time.

"I, Sarah, take thee, Harmon as my live-in/live-out husband, realizing that your comings and goings and 0330 staff meetings are normal (although absurd to me) and part of your life as a sailor. I promise not to be shocked or taken by surprise when you inform me that, although we've just arrived at our new duty station, we will be leaving within the month. Yes, I'll have you as my husband as long as you are away, my allotment comes through regularly, and that you leave me a current power of attorney and the checkbook at all times. I am a family member and proud of it, dependent upon myself and my resources. Although I miss you when you are away, I know I can handle whatever comes across my path.

"Now then, let no man or woman put asunder what God and the Department of the Navy have brought together. The Navy hereby issues you this lovely, dedicated, independent woman, knowing that she'll be an asset not only to your marriage, but also to the mission of the United States Navy, which is, as you all know, to remain in a state of 'Readiness.' By the authority vested in the Bible, elaborated in the regulation and subject to current directives concerning the aspects of marriage in the Navy, you are now a Sailor with a Family Member. Best Wishes and Good Luck," she concluded.

As everyone laughed, Sydney managed to say, "I'm almost afraid to ask how much of that is an accurate depiction of life as a military spouse."

Trish grinned as she replied, "Deanne and Jackie I'm sure will agree with this sentiment, but all we can say, Sydney, is 'Welcome to life with the military.' Of course, back in mine and Deanne's day, things were a bit different, especially if your husband was in a war zone half a world away. But as long as you could get to the exchange and commissary and the money was in the bank on the first and fifteenth of the month, life was considered to be pretty good. Of course, I imagine being an Admiral's wife will be quite different from what being the wife of an Ensign was like for me forty years ago."

"There's an old joke," Deanne added, "that I think also originated with the Army that quote – if the Army had wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one with your dog tags – unquote. That tells you how much empathy the military used to have for your situation when things started going wrong, especially if your spouse was half a world away and unreachable."

"Seriously, Dr. Walden," Jackie said, "it's not as bad as it used to be. Now, let's say something goes wrong with your spouse's pay and he's away. You go down to finance, wave a power of attorney in their face and hope that they have some time to even talk to you sometime before the next payday."

"Alright, let's stop scaring Sydney," Trish insisted. "She'll probably have it easy since her husband will be an Admiral. People will be bending over backwards to help her out. After all, RHIP – Rank Hath Its Privileges."

"Everyone, these are hilarious," Mac said, bringing the conversation back to the original topic of the gifts. "Thanks a lot. And I would also like to say something on behalf of Harm and myself to all of you. The last two months have been really crazy with the shooting, the court-martials, trying to put this wedding together in just six weeks, and everything else that's been going on. I doubt that we could have managed to pull off this wedding this quickly without all of your help and both of us are grateful for everything you've done, so thank you."

-----

SATURDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER  
1457 ZULU  
CATHEDRAL OF THE NAVY  
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Is everyone ready to go?" AJ asked, looking over the bridal party assembled in the vestibule of the church. "It's about time to seat the mothers."

Deanne and Trish both looked at Mac, who was standing off to the side of the vestibule, taking some deep breaths. "Mac, darling," Trish said, walking over and placing her hand on Mac's arm, "it's almost time."

"Is it?" Mac asked distracted. "I lost track of the time."

"Sarah losing track of time?" Deanne said lightly in a teasing tone. "You can probably count on one hand the number of times that has happened. It will be fine, honey. In a few minutes you'll walk down that aisle and forget everything except for that man waiting for you at the other end." She walked over to a side table and carefully picked up the bridal bouquet, carrying it over to her daughter.

Mac took the offered flowers, lifting the bouquet to inhale the fragrant scent of the flowers. After a long moment, she lowered the arrangement, settling it in front of her and squaring her shoulders. "I'm ready," she said firmly.

"I love you, darling," Trish whispered, hugging Mac briefly. Releasing Mac, she picked up one of the two candles sitting on the side table and hooked her arm around AJ's.

Slowly, AJ escorted Trish up the aisle, stopping at the tenth pew from the front on the left side. Releasing Trish's arm, AJ waited patiently while Trish slid into the pew and made her way to the eternal flame burning brightly at the center of the pew.

Looking down at the flame, she closed her eyes and said a brief prayer. Opening her eyes again, she tipped the candle she held, touching the wick to the flame. Tears forming in her eyes, she whispered, "I know you're here watching over our son, Harmon." Holding the lit candle carefully in front of her, she made her way back to the aisle, linking her arm with AJ's once again.

Slowly, they completed the journey up the aisle, AJ releasing Trish's arm so she could sit in the front pew next to her husband. As AJ turned and walked back up the aisle for Deanne, Frank took his wife's hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "He's here," he whispered softly.

Trish turned and smiled at her husband through her tears. "I know," she whispered back. "I can feel him."

-----

"Thank you, Sarah," Deanne said softly while she waited for AJ to return to escort her to her seat.

"Mom ..." Mac said hesitantly.

"I know I don't deserve to be here," she said. "But thank you for letting me stay. I do want to try and do better by you."

"I know, Mom," Mac said, her eyes tearing. "I want to try, too."

Deanne pulled her daughter into her arms, careful not to crush the bouquet. "I love you, honey," she whispered. She pulled away and looked at her daughter. "I don't expect you to say it. I know I have to earn that."

Mac nodded. "Thank you, Mom," she replied. She saw AJ standing by the door, allowing mother and daughter their moment. "It's time."

Deanne kissed Mac's forehead, then joined AJ at the door after picking up her own candle from the table. As they linked arms, she turned her head and look at her daughter. Mouthing "I love you," she allowed AJ to lead her into the sanctuary.

"Okay, it's almost time for the processional," Matt said, watching everyone line up for their walk down the aisle. Jackie would start down the aisle first, followed by Carolyn and then Sydney. Then would come Harriet as the matron of honor, followed by Josh as ring bearer. Chloe would then walk down the aisle, scattering rose pedals before Mac headed for the altar on her uncle's arm. Matt opened the door a crack to check on what was happening in the church. Deanne had just sat down and AJ was making his way to the side door where Captain Duncan would come out, followed by Harm and the groomsmen. Once they were in their places in front of the altar, the door would open again for the ladies' walk down the aisle.

"Uncle Matt?" Mac asked.

"Your mother just took her seat and the pastor is getting ready to come out, followed by the rest of the wedding party," he told her. After a few moments, he turned away from the door.

"It's time everyone," he said. "Josh, Chloe, do you have the ring pillow and flower basket?"

"Yes, Sir," Josh replied, holding up the pillow.

"Of course, Uncle Matt," Chloe said, letting a handful of rose pedals fall from her hand back into the basket.

"Good," Matt said, taking a deep breath. He couldn't imagine being more nervous if Sarah had been his own child. His eyes swept over the assembled party, making sure nothing was out of place.

"Uncle Matt, it's going to be fine," Mac insisted.

Everyone laughed a little. "This coming from the woman who lost track of time a few minutes ago," he pointed out. As the door opened and Jackie began her walk down the aisle, he joined Mac at the rear of the line, pulling her veil down over her face.

"Hold this for a second, will you?" she asked, handing Matt her bouquet. After he took it, she straightened the Medal of Honor that hung around his neck. "Your medal is a little crooked," she explained.

Finished, she took the bouquet back and stepped back to study him. "Perfect," she declared.

"So are you, Sarah," he said. As he heard the music change through the closed door, he held out his left arm to Mac. "Are you ready to go marry your Sailor?"

Mac nodded, smiling brightly at him through the veil as the door opened. Her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of Harm, resplendent in his dress whites, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. Taking a deep breath, she began the long walk on her uncle's arm to the man she loved.

-----

From his place at the altar, Harm watched with increasing nervousness as the women walked slowly down the aisle. He barely noticed how beautiful all the bridesmaids looked in their rose-colored dresses. The bodices were of velvet with form-fitting short sleeves. The satin skirts fell from a high waist to the floor. Harriet's dress was identical save the darker rose color and a fuller skirt to accommodate her pregnancy. All the women except Harriet wore satin gloves identical in color to their dresses.

He barely noticed Josh's grin as the young boy took his place next to the groomsmen or Chloe's satisfied smile as she took her place at the altar with the women, her dress nearly identical in design to the bridesmaids' dresses except that it was ivory in color.

The music changed and the doors at the back of the church opened to reveal Matt in his Marine dress blues, Mac on his arm. As they slowly walked down the aisle to the strains of the wedding march from _The Sound Of Music_, Harm and Mac only had eyes for each other.

Even though he barely noticed her dress and had a hard time making out her face underneath the veil as she walked down the aisle, Harm didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful sight than that of his Marine as she came to join him at the altar.

Her gaze locked on Harm, Mac was only vaguely aware when Matt lifted her veil once they reached the altar to kiss her cheek or when he turned to Harm and whispered, "Take care of Sarah," or when he left them to take his seat beside his sister in the front row.

They were both still lost in each other, barely aware of the words when Captain Duncan began the ceremony. "Dearly beloved, we are assembled here, in the presence of God and these witnesses, to join together this man, Harmon David Rabb, Jr., and this woman, Sarah Catherine Mackenzie, in holy matrimony, which is blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, governed by God's commandments, and is to be held in high honor among all people. Therefore it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, and in awe of God.

"Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today Harmon and Sarah proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together," he continued.

"The joy we feel now is a solemn joy, because the act of marriage has many consequences, both social and personal. Marriage requires 'love,' a word we often use with vagueness and sentimentality. We may assume that love is some rare and mystical event, when in fact it is our natural state of being. So what do we mean by love? When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty. And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who loves us, gives us a unique gift: a piece of ourselves, but a piece that only they could give us.

"We who love can look at each other's life and say, 'I touched his life,' or, 'I touched her life,' just as an artist might say, 'I touched this canvas. Those brushstrokes in the comer of this magnificent mural, those are mine. I was a part of this life, and it is a part of me.' Marriage is to belong to each other through a unique and diverse collaboration, like two threads crossing in different directions, yet weaving one tapestry together.

"The secret of love and marriage is similar to that of religion itself. It is the emergence of the larger self. It is the finding of one's life by losing it. Such is the privilege of husband and wife - to be each himself, herself and yet another; to face the world strong, with the courage of two. To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both. While love is our natural state of being, these other qualities are not as easy to come by. They are not a destination, but a journey. The true art of married life is in this an inner spiritual journey. It is a mutual enrichment, a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments which diminishes neither, but enhances both.

"Harmon and Sarah, you have signified your desire to enter into the holy state of matrimony. If any here know of any lawful impediment why these two may not be joined in matrimony, I charge you now, before God, the Searcher of all hearts, to declare it or forever hold you peace." The church was silent. From his place with the groomsmen, AJ looked out over the congregation, prepared to bring the full wrath of a SEAL and two-star Admiral down on anyone who dared speak.

After what seemed like an eternity, Captain Duncan continued with the invocation, "Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, in whom we live and move and have our being - grant unto us purity of heart and strength of purpose, so that no selfish passion may hinder us from knowing your will, and no weakness from doing it; that in your light we may see light, and in your service find perfect freedom through Jesus Christ our Lord. Be present at this hour and grant that what is said and done in this place may be blessed, both now and forevermore. Amen."

"Amen," the congregation echoed. Almost as an afterthought, Harm and Mac softly echoed, "Amen," a heartbeat after everyone else.

"Now, some of Harmon and Sarah's friends and family will offer their thoughts and prayers as they embark on their new life together," Duncan continued. "First, Mr. Clayton Webb will read from I Corinthians 13."

Clay came out from behind the piano and walked up to one of the podiums set up on either side of the altar. Opening the Bible sitting there to the book marked page, he looked at Harm and Mac as he read the verses, barely glancing at the page in front of him. "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love." Clay looked over at Harm and Mac and nodded at them, offering a smile as he closed the Bible.

As Clay stepped back to the piano and sat down on the bench, Captain Duncan said, "And now reading 'Marriage Is A Promise Of Love' by Edmund O'Neill is Lieutenant j.g. Harriet Sims."

Harriet left her place beside Mac and walked around to the side of the altar to the other podium. As she read the short essay, her eyes found her husband's and Bud smiled at her warmly. "Marriage is a commitment to life," she read, her mind traveling back over two years to the day when she and Bud had been standing in front of the altar with Harm and Mac standing up for them, "to the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth no other human relationship can equal, a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life's most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other's best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. There may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller; memories are fresher; commitment is stronger; even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, and new ways of expressing love through the seasons of life. When two people pledge to love and care for each other in marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill."

As Harriet returned to her place in front of the altar, Captain Duncan once again spoke, "From John 15: The greatest gift of God we give and receive in marriage is love. Jesus spoke about love and about the obedience to God that reserves love, with these words - As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and hat your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Looking out over the sea of Navy dress whites and Marine dress blues, he continued, "Let us pray for Harmon and Sarah as they make their marriage vows - Almighty God who, from the beginning, hast made man and woman for each other, let your spirit rest upon these your servants, as in your name they pledge themselves to one another in vows of love and faithfulness. Let your love be upon them and theirs be in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen"

"Amen," the congregation echoed.

"Now, let Harmon and Sarah declare their intent before God and this company," Duncan said. "Harmon, will you have Sarah to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others remain loyal to her as long as you both shall live?"

"Yes, I will," Harm promised.

As he offered her one of his grins, Mac's thoughts drifted back over the many times he had already stood by her over the years, smiling at the memories of everything they had shared together.

_"I'll get you through this. I promise."  
_  
_"I understand. I may not like it, but I'm happy for you."  
_  
_"Mac, look ... you fell off the wagon. You get back on."  
_  
_"You are a lean, mean fighting Marine and you have me backing you up. What could be better?"_

"Sarah, will you have Harmon to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others remain loyal to him as long as you both shall live?"

She gazed at Harm through her veil, her eyes shining bright with unshed tears as she echoed his response, "Yes, I will."

Harm couldn't help thinking back over all the times she had already been there for him over the last four years. Even when everyone else had thought he was crazy or obsessed, her support for him had never wavered.

_"If you let me in, you'll be harboring a fugitive."  
_  
_"I speak the language, I can handle myself if things get rough and you need someone to watch your six."  
_  
_"You've come with me farther than anyone I know, I'll never forget that."_

"Will the families of Harmon and Sarah please stand?" Duncan asked. In the front row, Trish, Frank, Deanne and Matt all stood. "As Harmon and Sarah join their lives in marriage, they also bring you together in a new relationship, creating new bonds of trust and ties of affection. Will you give them your love, your blessing, and your support?"

"We will," they answered.

"Will the congregation please stand?" he continued. The rest of the congregation stood up. "Friends, Harmon and Sarah have invited you here because you are important people in their lives. Your love and support will be important always. Will all of you, by God's Grace, do everything in your power to preserve this marriage? Will you give them your love, your blessing, and your support?"

"We will," everyone answered before taking their seats again.

"Now, Harmon and Sarah will join hands and offer their vows to each other," Duncan announced.

Mac turned and handed Harriet her bouquet, the first time her eyes had left Harm's since she had entered the sanctuary. She turned back to him and held her hands out to him. As he took her hands in his, she was surprised to discover that his fingers were trembling as much as hers.

His fingers tightening around hers, he offered her an encouraging smile as he began, a slight catch in his voice, "I, Harmon, take you, Sarah, to be my wife, knowing in my heart that you will always be my friend, my partner in life and my one true love. I promise to love you without reservation, to honor and respect you, to provide for your needs the best that I can, to protect you from harm, to comfort you in times of distress, to laugh with you and cry with you, to grow with you in mind and spirit, to always be open and honest with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

He paused as he finished the prepared vows, trying to gather his thoughts. He had never been very good at speaking from his heart, he knew, and now he had to try to express everything that she was to him in front of all their family and friends in a few brief sentences. He could see her offer her own encouraging smile beneath the veil and he continued, "When I first heard I was getting a new partner, I never imagined that it would lead to this. I can't find the words ... to express everything that I'm feeling at this moment." He paused for a moment, looking down at their joined hands. "Ever since the day I met you, whenever I would think about the future, you were always by my side. Even with everything that has happened – your leaving, my leaving, Australia, all the others in our lives along the way – the image of you by my side for the rest of my life was one I couldn't let go of. I just wish that I could have found the courage sooner ... to tell you how much I love you ... for eternity, Sarah Mackenzie."

"Oh, Harm," Mac whispered, her tears freely falling. She fought to keep her voice steady and strong as she told him, " I, Sarah, take you, Harmon, to be my husband, knowing in my heart that you will always be my friend, my partner in life and my one true love. I promise to love you without reservation, to honor and respect you, to provide for your needs the best that I can, to protect you from harm, to comfort you in times of distress, to laugh with you and cry with you, to grow with you in mind and spirit, to always be open and honest with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

"When I first heard that I was being partnered with a former pilot," she continued with a grin, "well ... I don't think you want to know what I was thinking." The entire congregation laughed a little at that. "And on the surface, you appeared to be everything that I'd imagined. But when I got a chance to see beneath the brash, arrogant exterior, I found the kindest, most compassionate man I'd ever met. It was so easy to imagine spending the rest of my life with you, even when I tried to convince myself that I didn't deserve you. I've made so many mistakes, but that never mattered to you. You've always stood by me - supported me - no matter what and I'll always love you ... for eternity, Harmon Rabb."

"May I have the rings, please?" Captain Duncan requested. Harriet and Bud placed the wedding rings on the Captain's open Bible.

"The perfect circle of a ring symbolizes eternity, while gold is a symbol of all that is pure and holy. As you give these rings to each other, our prayer is that your love will be the same, pure and eternal. May the Lord God bless these rings, symbols of your marriage," he continued. Holding the Bible out, he turned to Harm. "Harmon, take this ring and place it on Sarah's finger."

Harm picked up the circle of white gold and slowly slid it onto the third finger of Mac's left hand. She laughed a little when he had trouble getting it past her knuckle. "Sorry, I guess my fingers are a little swollen," she whispered.

As he managed the slide the ring the rest of the way onto her finger, he said, "Sarah, I bring this ring, shaped in the symbol of completeness and eternity, and I give it to you to wear so that we will always remember our marriage vows." He squeezed her hand as she reached with her right hand for his ring.

Her hand shaking as she slid the ring easily onto his finger, she repeated his words, "Harmon, I bring this ring, shaped in the symbol of completeness and eternity, and I give it to you to wear so that we will always remember our marriage vows."

As they joined hands once again, Captain Duncan continued with the marriage blessing, "May God bless you with hope enough to keep the dawn in your love, and fear enough to keep you holding hands in the dark. Unity enough to keep your roots entwined, and separation enough to keep you reaching out for each other. Harmony enough to keep romance in your song, and discord enough to keep you tuning your love. Amen."

"Amen," Harm and Mac echoed, followed by the congregation.

"Now, let us participate in another symbolic act. Life is full of many such actions that speak to us of a deeper meaning that we cannot always put into words. You have used ancient symbols in this wedding service - the exchange of rings, the clasping of hands, the bearing of flowers. By such things you act instead of speak in regard to your promises. Now each of you will take a candle. And together you will light one larger candle. This is a vivid reminder that in true Christian marriage our lives are merged, even as we remain individuals. This is a symbolic prayer that God will enhance your own personhood and bless your uniqueness as individuals, but that God will also make of your hands one hand ... of your hearts one heart ... and of your lives one life."

Softly, Clay began playing "One Hand, One Heart" from _West Side_ _Story _as Trish and Deanne rose from their seats and carried their candles forward and Duncan continued, "As Harmon and Sarah's mothers join us with the candles they lit before the start of the ceremony, I have been asked to mention someone who unfortunately could not be here with us today. Lieutenant Harmon Rabb, Sr. was shot down over Vietnam on Christmas Eve, 1969 and was MIA. In honor of his memory, the candle which Trish Burnett carries was lit from the eternal flame which burns in this chapel to honor those who went off in service to our country and never returned."

There were tears in his eyes as Harm took the candle that Trish held out to him. "Mom?" he asked softly, surprise in his voice.

"It was Frank's idea," she whispered as she squeezed her son's arm and stepped back. Harm looked up and met Frank's eyes, offering him a grateful smile.

As Deanne and Trish returned to their pews, Harm and Mac took the candles they had been given and stepped up to the altar. As they carefully lit the large unity candle sitting center front on the altar, Mac whispered, "Are you okay?"

Harm nodded, not trusting himself to speak. After lighting the unity candle and setting the other candles to the side, together they picked up the smaller pink candle sitting to one side of the unity candle and waited for Captain Duncan to continued.

"In Genesis chapter one, verse twenty-eight," he intoned, "it is said 'And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Now, from the unity candle they just lit, Harmon and Sarah will light two smaller candles, representative of the two new lives they will be bringing into this world, products of the love they share."

Together, Harm and Mac lit the pink candle and set it back down. They then picked up a similar candle, this one blue in color, sitting on the other side of the unity candle and repeated the lighting. After setting the candle back down, they stepped back from the altar, taking their places again with the rest of the wedding party.

"Sometimes," Captain Duncan said, "a couple will chose to exchange a small gift during their wedding ceremony, a symbol of the love that they share and that will sustain them for the rest of their lives. Harmon and Sarah have chosen to honor this tradition, for the gift exchanged is not only a representation of their love, but also a reminder of their first meeting, which I am told took place in the White House Rose Garden."

Harm and Mac turned to Bud and Harriet, each being handed a small red rose. They turned back to each other as Captain Duncan continued, "Your gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect; and a public showing of your commitment to each other. You now have what remains the most honorable title which may exist between a man and a woman - the title of 'husband' and 'wife.' For your first gift as husband and wife, that gift will be a single rose. In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love and a single rose always meant only one thing - it meant the words 'I love you.' So it is appropriate that for your first gift - as husband and wife - that gift would be a single rose."

As Harm and Mac exchanged their roses, their fingers brushing, Duncan said, "In some ways it seems like you have not done anything at all. Just a moment ago you were holding one small rose - and now you are holding one small rose. In some ways, a marriage ceremony is like this. In some ways, tomorrow is going to seem no different than yesterday. But in fact today, just now, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage. Harmon and Sarah, I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future - that you both pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot both as a recommitment to your marriage and a recommitment that this will be a marriage based upon love.

"In every marriage there are times where it is difficult to find the right words. It is easiest to hurt who we most love. It is easiest to be most hurt by who we most love. It might be difficult some time to words to say 'I am sorry' or 'I forgive you'; 'I need you' or 'I am hurting'. If this should happen, if you simply can not find these words, leave a rose at that spot which both of you have selected - for that rose then says what matters most of all and should overpower all other things and all other words. That rose says the words 'I still love you.' The other should accept this rose for the words which can not be found, and remember the love and hope that you both share today. Harmon and Sarah, if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, it is that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and it is by love which your marriage shall endure."

"I love you," Mac mouthed the words as her fingers brushed over the soft, silky pedals of the rose in her hands.

Even through the veil, Harm had no trouble making out her words. Smiling, he mouthed "I love you" in return as Captain Duncan offered the prayer of intercession.

"Let us pray - O God, Lord of life and love eternal, author of all good and giver of all joy, we thank you for the gift of marriage. We bless thee for the joy that Harmon and Sarah have found in each other and for the covenant that they have made before thee. Grant, O Lord, that Harmon and Sarah may dwell together in unity and love all the days of their life. Give them health, prosperity and peace. Strengthen them to obey and serve thee, that they may walk in the steps of Jesus Christ and when the joys and sorrows and all the good and evil of this passing world are ended, inherit thy promises and share in thy eternal Glory. O God, look too in favor upon us and all our homes. Defend us from evil from within and without, and supply our needs according to the riches of thy grace - that directed by thy spirit, we may look to the good of others in word and deed and grow in grace as we advance in years. We ask it through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, saying together as one, the prayer he taught us – "

Everyone joined in reciting, "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Captain Duncan offered the final prayer, "And now unto you - and all who present, may this blessing come upon you - that you be in love, grow in love, stand in love, and act by love - through the God of love - both now and forevermore. Amen."

"Amen," the congregation echoed.

"In Matthew 19, Jesus also said, 'Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.'

"I now pronounce that Harmon and Sarah are husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no person put asunder. Harmon, you may now kiss your bride."

Before the chaplain finished speaking, Harm lifted Mac's veil and pushed it back over her head. His hands on either side of her face, his thumbs rushed the tears from her cheeks as he lowed his head, brushing his lips against hers. Mac leaned forward slightly, deepening the kiss as she pressed one hand against his chest for balance, the fingers of her other hand tightening around the stem of the rose she held.

As the first notes of the wedding march from _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ echoed through the chapel, Harm and Mac finally broke apart. "Think Clay is trying to tell us something?" Mac suggested softly.

Harm held his right arm out to her and grinned. "Shall we, Colonel Rabb?"

Linking her arm with his as Harriet handed her back her bouquet, she replied with a smile, "There's nothing I'd like more."

Arm in arm, Harm and Mac slowly made their way up the aisle to the back of the church, not even noticing the smiles and approving glances from their friends and family, each of them only having eyes for the other. As soon as they were through the door at the rear of the chapel, Harm pulled her into his arms again, his lips moving possessively over hers.

Mac leaned against him, her free hand clutching one of his shoulder boards as their tongues dueled frantically. As she lost herself to the powerful wave of emotions washing over her, she wondered at the newness of the feelings. They'd shared kisses before, kisses slow and gentle and tender mixed in with ones that were desperate and frantic and electric. So why did this one single kiss feel so different? They were the same people they had been yesterday, last week, last month. Nothing had changed at all, save the matching bands of white gold they both now wore on the third finger of their left hands.

Finally, a need for oxygen forced them apart and they leaned against each other, their foreheads touching, both breathing heavily. "Wow," Harm said unsteadily, fighting to control his breathing.

"I know," Mac said, her voice equally shaky. "That was ... something."

Before Harm could reply, Mac was tapped on the shoulder and they both turned their heads to find Harriet and Bud looking at them with something akin to amusement in their eyes.

"As a married woman," Harriet said, her eyes twinkling merrily, "I can certainly understand, but unless you'd like a rather large audience, I'd save it for later, Sir, Ma'am."

Harm and Mac both laughed as the rest of the wedding party filed into the vestibule in pairs. "Harriet, what would it cost us to get you and Bud to call us Harm and Mac for at least a few hours?" Mac teased.

"With all these uniforms around?" Carolyn jumped in, her arm wrapped around Jack's waist. "Not a chance that would happen."

"Fascinating as this all is," AJ said, "why don't we move this to a side room so that the guests can get out of the church? The men need to put on their swords for the arch."

"And I would love to sit down and get off my feet," Harriet admitted, "and I'm sure the Colonel would, too."

"I suppose," Mac replied as they all moved off into a side room. "I hadn't really thought about."

Everyone laughed as Carolyn pointed out, "Probably mesmerized by the dress whites and gold wings."

Mac treated her friend to a knowing smile. "And what's been your excuse all week?" she wondered. "Who is it that has nearly been late to work every day this week?"

"Well, at least I haven't been sneaking around pretending that everything is the same as usual between me and the man I love while all my friends are trying to play matchmaker," Carolyn retorted.

"But it was kind of fun watching Harriet try not to be obvious about playing matchmaker," Mac pointed out as Harm led her to a chair. She sat down with a sigh, carefully draping the train of her dress over her arm, and slipped her shoes off, wiggling her feet beneath the hem of her skirt. "Oh, it feels good to get out of these shoes," she sighed.

"Agreed," Harriet sighed as she sat down also, slipping her own shoes off. "You don't suppose anyone would notice if we went barefoot during the reception?"

"How long do we have to stay at the reception?" Mac whispered to Harm.

"We said about three hours, remember?" he replied softly. With a gleam in his eye, he leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "But if you play your cards right, maybe your husband will give you a foot rub on your way to your honeymoon."

"Hmmm, I'll be counting the minutes," she promised as he brushed his lips against her ear.

"Mac, why don't you let me put those flowers away?" Sydney suggested, interrupting the private moment. Mac blinked and stared at Sydney for a moment, as if just realizing that they were not alone in the room. Silently, she handed her bouquet and the single rose she still held over to Sydney. After getting Harm's rose from him, Sydney carefully laid the bouquet in the box they had come out of, also placing the roses in the box before replacing the lid.

"So, has anyone had to turn the hose on the newlyweds yet?" Chloe asked as she skipped into the room just ahead of Josh, who rolled his eyes at her question.

"Chloe," Mac said, drawing out her sister's name. "Behave."

"I am behaving," Chloe insisted, throwing her arms around Mac's neck. "So how's it feel to be married?"

Mac laughed. "Ask me again when I've been married for longer than nine minutes and twenty-seven seconds," she joked.

Chloe paused a beat, then asked again, "So how's it feel to be married?"

All the adults laughed at Chloe's exuberance as Matt entered the room, followed by three other Marine officers who would make up the Corps' half of the Arch of Swords. "What does the crowd look like out there?" AJ inquired.

"I'd say about half the congregation has left the church," Matt informed him. "We've probably got another five minutes at least before it's time to form the arch." He looked at his niece, who was resting her head against the wall behind her. "How are you feeling, Sarah?"

"Ask me later when I've come down from the adrenaline high," she joked as Harm pulled up a chair beside her and sat down. "I don't remember it taking this long for the arch at Bud and Harriet's wedding."

"That's because you weren't the one waiting to walk under the arch," Harriet pointed out. "Trust me, it seems like an eternity – especially when you're, ah, anxious to get on to some of the more enjoyable aspects of married life."

"Harriet!" Mac exclaimed, having a hard time remembering when she'd ever heard her friend sound so forward.

"As far as those 'more enjoyable aspects' are concerned," Carolyn teased, "I think it's obvious that they didn't wait for the wedding for that."

"Ugh, gross," Josh complained. He was still just young enough to think the idea of boys and girls together was yucky.

"Everyone, please remember there are children present," Mac suggested. "I don't think Annie would appreciate hearing how you guys are corrupting her son, although as far as my sister is concerned, I think she's already a lost cause." She looked at her uncle standing by the door. "What's it like out there?"

Matt cracked the door and looked out. "Looks like just about everyone's out," he replied, "so we should probably start putting our swords on and everyone else not in the arch should probably join the others outside." The bridal party filed out of the room along with Chloe and Josh while Bud started passing out swords and scabbards to the assembled officers.

Harm bent over and picked up Mac's shoes, slipping them back on her feet before straightening. "Ready to meet the public, Mrs. Rabb?"

"Hmmm, I like hearing you call me that," Mac murmured happily as Harm stood and helped her up. He helped her straighten her train as the honor guard filed out of the room, lining up in pairs in the vestibule as they donned their covers. A moment later, Harm and Mac joined them, taking up their place at the end of the line.

Bud, as best man, called the company to attention and gave the order to file out of the church, Bud leading the Navy officers on Harm and Mac's left and Matt leading the Marine contingent on the right. Giving Mac a quick kiss, Harm took her arm and they followed the guard out.

Harm and Mac stopped just outside the door as the guard came to a halt at the bottom of the steps in front of the church, turning with a snap to face center. Firmly, Bud called out, "Officers, draw swords." As one, the officers drew their swords from the scabbards, raising them up before bringing them back down to their sides.

Harm and Mac offered each other smiles as Bud continued, "Arch swords." Again as one, the swords were lifted to form the arch. "Blades to the wind." With a snap of their wrists, the blades were turned.

As Harm and Mac stepped forward, Bud continued in the same firm voice, "Presenting ... for the first time in public ... Commander and Mrs. Harmon David Rabb, Jr."

Slowly, Harm and Mac made their way down the church steps and under the arch, Mac's hand tightening on his arm as they neared the end of the arch. Although she understood the tradition, the idea of being swatted with a sword didn't really hold any appeal for her. As they fell even with Bud and Matt, Bud brought down his sword and gently swatted Mac's rear. "Go Navy," he called out.

Before they could step away, Matt surprised them by bringing down his sword and swatting Harm in similar fashion. "Welcome to the Corps," he called out with a grin.

As Mac struggled to contain her laughter at the chagrined look on her husband's face, Bud called for the officers to return the swords. After a moment, he called out, "Officers, dismissed."

With a grin, Harm pulled Mac into his arms, pressing his lips against hers in an ardent kiss as the assembled crowd cheered.

-----

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

1620 ZULU  
OFFICERS' CLUB  
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY  
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

"Just a few more then we'll do some with the families and then the wedding party," the photographer announced as Mac groaned.

"You don't think I can sit for some of these pictures, do you?" Mac mused.

"Why don't you take your shoes off again?" Harm suggested. "Your feet are hidden under your dress."

"I already did," she said, lifting her skirt to show him. "Now I just need to sit down."

"How much longer do you think this will take?" Harm asked the photographer.

"If all your family members and the wedding party are ready," the photographer pondered, "I'd say ten to fifteen minutes max."

Mac and Harm looked over at the group waiting along the wall while the pictures of the bride and groom were taken. "Uncle Matt," Mac called out, "would you please find my mother? I don't see her. Also, Bud, I want you to go get the rest of the JAG staff. Since all of you have done so much to help plan this wedding, I'd like to get a picture of all of us from JAG together."

As Matt took off to find Deanne and Bud went to gather Gunny, Tiner, Lauren and Alfred, Mac turned back to the photographer. "Let's get these done, okay? What do you want next?"

"Why don't we get some candid shots of you two?" he suggested. "And you can use a chair for this one if you'd like."

A photographer's assistant brought over a chair, which Harm sat down in, pulling Mac into his lap as the assistant relieved her of her bouquet. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, the camera clicked away.

For the first time, Harm took a very good look at the dress his wife was wearing. Ivory in color, it looked like something out of the Regency era with short puffy sleeves and a high waist, perfect for accommodating her expanding waistline. The skirt was finished off by a five foot train. Harm looked down at the hem and it looked to him like roses were beaded along the edge. He looked back up at Mac and was about to comment on the dress when he noticed similar beadwork along the low neckline, but with a very noteworthy addition.

Tracing the beaded design at the center of her neckline with his finger, he commented, "Interesting design for a wedding dress."

Mac blushed as she met his eyes. "I thought you'd like it," she said softly. "I know they're not gold, but I thought it would be a nice tribute to my aviator husband if I had a pair of wings beaded on my dress."

"Your husband is very touched," he said with a grin as the photographer continued to click away. He was about to say something else when he noticed an odd look on her face and a hand pressed to her abdomen. "What is it?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure," she said slowly, "I thought ... wait, there it is again. Harm, I think I just felt one of the babies move for the first time." Her voice rose in a rush of emotion as she grabbed one of his hands and pressed it against the side of her stomach where her hand had just been.

Unaware of all the eyes on them and the camera still clicking away, Harm pressed his hand against her, concentrating on trying to feel any hint of movement. After a few moments when he didn't feel anything, he was about to ask if she was sure when he felt it – a little fluttering movement against the palm of his hand. He looked up at her, his eyes full of awe and wonder.

Pressing her hands against either side of his face, Mac leaned forward and kissed him, then rested her forehead against his as she covered his hand on her stomach with hers, overwhelmed at the rush of emotion she was feeling.

After another moment, the photographer cleared his throat. Harm and Mac both looked over at him, a little embarrassed. In the excitement, they had all but forgotten that they had an audience. Looking over at the family and friends, Mac was sure she saw more than one person with tears in their eyes. "Sorry," Mac began, but the photographer waved her off.

"Forget about it," he said. "These are going to turn out to be some very good pictures. And you can show your child a picture of what happened the first time you felt him or her move."

"Now if we could only figure out which child that was," Mac joked, everyone laughing.

"Okay, why don't we get the families over here?" the photographer suggested. He began talking them into position and an assistant pulled the chair out of the way after Harm and Mac stood and handed Mac back her bouquet. "Commander, Colonel, why don't you turn slightly towards each other. Okay, let's get the mothers next to each of their children, facing towards the center. Mrs. Burnett, can you come forward a little bit? We don't want you hidden behind your son. Mr. Burnett, next to your wife and Colonel O'Hara, next to your sister. Good, now Chloe, let's put you in front of Colonel O'Hara and Mrs. Mackenzie. Not quite balanced, but it will work."

He snapped a few pictures, then said, "Okay, let's get each family separately. Why don't we bring the chair back? Commander, sit down and let's get your parents behind you on either side. Okay, that looks good." A few more pictures were snapped.

"Let's get the Colonel and her family now," he continued as he changed the film in his camera. "Colonel, please sit. Let's get your uncle standing directly behind you and your mother and sister on either side of him."

After those pictures were taken, the wedding party was motioned over. "Let's everyone line up exactly as you were at the altar," he said. "Starting on my left with Chloe, then the three bridesmaids, the matron of honor, the bride and groom, best man, the groomsmen, then Josh." He looked everyone over once they were in position and frowned. "Do we have the ring pillow and flower basket around here somewhere?" Chloe and Josh nodded and broke the line to retrieve the items. Once they were back in position, the photographer nodded, satisfied. "Much better."

After those pictures were taken, Sydney, Jackie, Josh and Chloe moved off and the rest of the JAG staff stepped forward. The photographer looked over them for a moment, trying to figure out how best to assemble them. "Bride and groom center turned towards each other," he announced. "Admiral, why don't you stand next to Commander Rabb and then let's get Commander Mattoni next to him. Gunnery Sergeant, let's put you next to Colonel Rabb. That's good; now why don't we put the Petty Officer next to you?" He pondered for another moment, then added, "Let's have Lieutenant Sims standing in front of the Colonel and Gunny and Lieutenant Roberts in front of the Commander and Admiral. Lieutenant Roberts, scoot to your right just a hair so that you're not blocking the Commander. Good. Let's put Commander Imes next to Lieutenant Roberts and then our other Lieutenants next to Sims." He motioned to Alfred. "Sir, why don't you stand next to Lieutenant Sims and Ma'am," he motioned to Loren, "you go on the other side of him. That's good, everyone."

"Let's everyone turn slightly towards center," he continued, "and everyone, hands in front as if you're at parade rest, except for Colonel Rabb, who's still holding her bouquet. Commander Rabb, why don't you put your arm around your wife and your other arm at your side? There we go."

After some more pictures were taken, he finally announced, "We're finished." With a grateful sigh from everyone, the group broke apart and Mac slipped back on her shoes.

"Okay, everyone can go on into the party," Mac announced, "but before you all do, Harm and I just wanted to tell you, in case we don't get a chance to later, how much we appreciate everything all of you have done for us both today and in the weeks leading up to it. It's meant a lot to us and we would never have been able to put this all together this quickly without help from all of you. So thank you from both of us."

As everyone filed into the reception room, Mac linked her arm around Harm's and said, "Okay, we mingle with the guests a little bit without doing the receiving line, sit down to eat, some dancing, cutting the cake, some more dancing, the bouquet and garter toss, then I change and we can get out of here. Just tell me this – will I get a chance to catch some sleep on our way to wherever we are going?"

"You'll have plenty of time to get some sleep," he replied as they moved to the door, waiting for Bud to announce them. "Tired already?"

"Not yet," she said. "I'm still on an emotional high. But give me a few hours and I think I'll definitely be ready to crash."

Inside the reception hall, the wedding party took their places at the long head table and Bud picked up a microphone. Expectantly, the crowd quieted and he announced as Harm and Mac stepped into the room, "Presenting Commander and Mrs. Harmon David Rabb, Jr."

-----

1718 ZULU

"Can I please have everyone's attention?" Bud announced into the microphone. Around the room, people turned in their chairs and looked towards the head table expectantly. He looked over the crowd, making sure he had everyone's attention. After a moment, he continued, "In a few minutes, the bride and groom will take to the floor for the first dance. But first, a few people have a few words to say."

Bud paused a moment, then added, "We will try to keep the embarrassment to a minimum."

Harm leaned over and whispered against Mac's ear, "Right. They've done nothing but embarrass us the last three days. Why should today be any different?"

Mac shivered slightly at the feeling of his hot breath against her ear. The things this man could do to her without even touching her. But they still had at least an hour and forty-two minutes before they could make their escape. But still ...

"One hour, forty-two minutes and we can get out of here," she said softly, her fingers brushing the inside of his thigh. "Think you can hold out?"

Harm forced himself not to react. He couldn't, not here in front of all their friends and family. "If you stop doing that," he answered, biting back a groan.

"Can't take it, Sailor?"

"We have an audience," he reminded her. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand away and he resisted the strong urge to ask her to put it back.

"Later," she promised.

They managed to turn their attention back to Bud only to find that they had missed part of his toast. Harriet leaned towards Harm and whispered, "You didn't miss much. He was just talking about how the two of you were his mentors."

Harm turned and gave Harriet an embarrassed smile before turning his full attention back to Bud.

" ... and once," Bud continued, "a wise man told me that marriage is the greatest institution on the earth." He paused a moment, then grinned. "It's nice to see, Sir, that you're finally taking part in that 'greatest institution'. I guess you were more envious than not stupid."

Everyone laughed and Bud let the laughter run it's course before continuing. "Of course in Harm and Mac's case, it was a matter of getting to the point where both of them at the same time were unattached and ready to pursue a relationship with each other. It's been a wild and crazy ride for them the last four years and all of us our so glad that you two finally got it right. At least we don't have to resort to locking you two in a room together until you admit your feelings."

More laughter, then Bud lifted his glass up and said, "After all that you have been through together and apart to get to this, I know that the two of you can face any obstacle that crosses your path with the same determination with which you have faced everything else. If anyone can build a long, happy and fulfilling life together with lots of love, laughter and children, it is the two of you. In closing, I want to quote a short verse which I believe is perfect for you two. I apologize that I couldn't find the name of the author.

"'That is the true season of love when we believe that we alone can love, that no one could have ever loved so before us and that no one will ever love in the same way after us.' To Harm and Mac - may your true season of love last for eternity."

"To Harm and Mac," everyone echoed as they lifted their own glasses in tribute. Their glasses of sparkling cider in hand, Harm having decided to forego the champagne in deference to his wife, Harm and Mac linked arms and sipped from their glasses, following up with a tender kiss to the delight of the assembly. As Bud sat down, AJ stood, his own glass in hand.

"Before Harm and Mac have their first dance as man and wife," AJ announced, "I asked if I would be permitted to say a few words, also. They agreed as long as I also promised to keep the embarrassment down to a minimum since we had enough of that Thursday night."

As everyone laughed, especially those who had been present at the party, AJ continued, "For those of you not lucky enough to be around on Thursday, just ask anyone who was. I'm sure they would be more than happy to fill you in on what you missed."

On Harm and Mac's dirty looks, he got serious and added, "Seriously, it has been my privilege to have Harm and Mac serve under my command for four years together. I've watched them grow into two of the finest officers I've ever had the privilege of commanding and two very good friends of mine. I've also watched them become better people because of each other. Mac has shown Harm that he isn't always right or the best, even if he still can't always admit it to anyone except maybe her. And Harm gotten Mac to open up and trust others. My greatest hope for them is that they will continue to challenge each other and grow as people and that their children learn from their example and become as fine a people as their parents are. To Harm and Mac."

"To Harm and Mac."

Harm and Mac linked arms again and took a small sip before setting their glasses down. Harm pushed his chair back and stood, then pulled Mac's chair back and took her hand as she stood. As they made their way out to the dance floor, Mac carefully fastened the train of her dress at her waist so that she wouldn't trip. Meanwhile, AJ continued, "Now, Harm and Mac will share their first dance as man and wife. For those of you who are familiar with their relationship and all its ups and downs, you will find this song very appropriate."

As the music began, the lights over the dance floor dimmed and Harm pulled Mac into his arms. She looked up at him and smiled as she recognized the song as REO Speedwagon's 'Can't Fight This Feeling. "He's right," she whispered. "This is very appropriate."

"Oh my, God," Mac exclaimed softly, her eyes filling with tears. "You're doing the singing!"

Harm nodded confirmation. "I went to one of those places where you can record yourself singing with full musical accompaniment. I wanted to do something special for our first dance. I thought this song was so perfect for us and I thought it would be even more perfect if I could sing it to you."

"It is perfect," she told him as they moved together across the floor. "I love you for this."

Harm began singing the words softly in her ear as the song continued.

As the song ended, Harm and Mac danced on for a few more seconds, lost in each other. As they both realized that the music had ended, they stopped in the center of the dance floor and kissed. After a moment, Trish and Matt joined them on the dance floor and they reluctantly broke apart. Matt bowed and took Mac's hand as Harm bowed also and took his mother's hand as Bette Midler's 'Wind Beneath My Wings' began playing.

"That was very beautiful," Trish told Harm, having recognized his voice, "singing that song for Mac. You love her so much."

Harm shrugged. "It just seemed to say everything I've been feeling and I thought it would say it better if I sang it."

"I'm just happy that you've finally found someone to share your life with," Trish said. "All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy and I think that you finally are."

"I don't think I've ever since you this happy," Matt commented, brushing a tear from her cheek.

"I haven't been," Mac confirmed. "Harm has done so much for me, brought so much into my life. I never thought that I would find this kind of peace and happiness."

"You finally have all that I've ever wanted for you," he said.

"Thank you for always been there for me and supporting me," she said. "I don't think I would have made it this far without you."

As the song ended, Frank took Matt's place as Mac's partner and Deanne replaced Trish as Harm's. After their dance finished, the rest of the wedding party joined them out on the dance floor and Mac found herself back in Harm's embrace for 'That's What Friends Are For'.

"We've got some very good friends," Harm said, watching them dance.

"And everyone's so happy," Mac added, smiling misty-eyed. "Bud and Harriet have each other as do Alan and Jackie. The Admiral has found Sydney and Carolyn and Keeter have really hit it off. After seeing those two this week, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually hear wedding bells there, too."

"What's this?" he teased her. "You're happy so you want to see everyone else happy?"

"Something like that," she admitted, "or maybe it's just that I think turnabout's fair play. Carolyn was part of Harriet's matchmaking scheme a few months ago, so I think it's only fair that I return the favor. It was just pure luck that they managed to meet on their own before I had a chance to introduce them."

Harm laughed as they turned on the floor, "You're bad, you know that?"

As the song ended, other guests joined the couples on the dance floor as the DJ launched into 'The Search Is Over'. Mac led Harm back towards the tables. "Do you mind if I sit this one out?" she asked. "Four dances and my feet are getting tired again."

"I don't have a problem," he replied, "since I don't want you overdoing it." They ran into Teresa Coulter on their way back to their table.

"Harm, Mac, congratulations," she said, offering them both hugs. "That was a very beautiful ceremony."

"Thank you, Teresa," Mac replied. "We're glad you could be here. Harm, why don't you take Teresa out for a spin on the dance floor?"

"Okay," he agreed, giving Mac a kiss. "Where will you be?"

She looked around and spotted Matt sitting by himself. "I'll go keep my uncle company," she replied. As Harm took Teresa's hand and let her out onto the floor, Mac sat down next to Matt.

"Where did Mom go?" she asked hesitantly.

"She'll be back in a few minutes," he assured her. "She just went to freshen up. She's been crying a lot today." He paused, then added, "I'm glad you let her stay, Sarah. I think this is good for both of you."

"I hope so," she replied, fiddling with a napkin laying on the table. "I'd call myself reserved and very cautiously optimistic at this point. So why aren't you out there with some pretty lady?"

Matt shrugged. "I just didn't feel like dancing after the dance with you then the one I had with Deanne."

"Uncle Matt," she said, considering how best to put what she was about to say, "are you still a little concerned about wearing your dress uniform after being in Leavenworth?"

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "I have noticed a few people, including the SecNav, staring every now and then."

"Uncle Matt, for all you know, those people could have been staring at that Medal of Honor around your neck," she pointed out. "How many people can say they've been to a wedding - or anywhere - where they ran into a Medal of Honor recipient? And we've got two of you here. As for the SecNav, who I'm sure knows exactly who you are and what you've done, I would think after hearing most of my stories that you would have figured out that most of the time Harm and I don't really care what he thinks. He supposedly even calls Harm 'Harmful Rabb'."

Matt laughed a little at her last statement. "Okay, maybe you've got a point," he conceded. "I'll try not to be so self-conscious."

Mac spotted a familiar face nearby and waved him over. "Uncle Matt, I'd like you to meet someone," she said. "This is Lieutenant Curtis Rivers. Lieutenant, this is my uncle, Colonel Matthew O'Hara."

"It's an honor to meet you, Sir," Curtis said as the men shook hands. Curtis took a seat next to them.

"You, too, Lieutenant," Matt returned the greeting. "I heard about how you rescued that Undersecretary. Good job."

"Thank you, Sir," Curtis replied, more graciously than usual. He nodded to the medal around Matt's neck. "'Nam?"

As Matt nodded, Mac said, "You two have a lot in common, aside from your medals." As Matt looked at her questioningly, she added, "Let's put it this way. If we were civilians, the Lieutenant would be keeping Harm on retainer to represent him every time he gets into trouble. I have some people I want to see, so I'll leave you two. And please, if you must have any arguments about whether SEALs or Recon Marines are better, keep your voices down."

As she moved off, Mac was happy to see her uncle and Curtis slip easily into conversation. Making her way through the crowd, she ran into Skates.

"Congratulations, Colonel," Skates said. "It was a beautiful service and it's about time you got Hammer to settle down."

"Thank you, Skates," she said. "How is life aboard the Patrick Henry?"

"It was rough for a time after my court-martial," Skates replied, "but it's getting better. At least Captain Ingles doesn't look like he'd like to hang me from the nearest yardarm every time he sees me anymore."

"That's good to hear," Mac said. "I'm glad everything has worked out. What about Boomer and Tuna? I haven't had a chance to say hello yet."

"Well, you know those flyboys, Ma'am," she replied with a laugh. "They think the world would stop spinning if there weren't there to protect it."

Mac laughed. "I definitely know those flyboys," she said with a grin. "I'll see you later. I see someone over with my mother-in-law that I need to say hi to."

She walked over to the edge of the dance floor where Trish was talking to Admiral Tom Boone. "Darling, why aren't you out there with your husband?" Trish asked as Mac joined them.

"Just taking a little break and saying hello to some people," she replied. "Admiral Boone, it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too ... Colonel, isn't it?" Tom replied. "Congratulations. I'm just sorry that Hammer couldn't be here today, but that was a very nice touch with the candles."

"I thought so, too," Mac replied. "Harm's father is very important to him – to both of us – and it was nice to be able to make him a part of this day."

"Do you mind if I borrow my wife, Mom, Admiral Boone?" Harm asked as he joined them. "It's about time to cut the cake."

"Excuse us, please," Mac said, turning to follow Harm towards the table where the cake was set up. Lying on the table next to the cake was Harm's sword. Mac picked it up carefully as everyone gathered around as Shania Twain's 'From This Moment On' began playing over the speakers.

"Okay, just how do we go about cutting the cake with this?" Mac mused.

"Very carefully," Harm said with a grin as his hand closed over hers on the handle of the sword. Stepping back just a bit from the cake, they lowered the tip of the sword through the bottom layer of the cake, carefully cutting two thin slices.

Carefully, the two slices were each transferred to a plate and Mac picked one plate up. Tearing off a piece with frosting, she lifted it to Harm's lips.

Harm opened his mouth, letting Mac shove the small piece into his mouth. As she went to move her hand away, Harm grabbed it and took her fingers, one at a time, into his mouth, slowly sucking the butter cream frosting off her fingers. Mac had to remind herself to breath as his tongue swirled around each of her fingers in turn.

"Did that taste good?" she whispered huskily as he picked up his own cake slice.

"Delicious," he replied as he shoveled a small piece of cake between her waiting lips.

Mac returned the favor, sucking on each of his fingers in turn. As she released his hand, he leaned over her and whispered, "You've got frosting on the corner of your mouth." He kissed the corner of her mouth, his tongue licking the frosting off her lips to cheers and catcalls from their watching friends.

As the caterers took away the cake to finish cutting it for the guests, Harm and Mac took their plates back to their seats and continued feeding each other bits of cake between kisses while the music continued in the background and couples danced while waiting for the cake to be brought back out.

Eventually, the music stopped and Bud called for quiet. "Okay, it's almost time to toss the bouquet and the garter," he announced, "and then the bride and groom will be taking off for their honeymoon in a top secret location. But before all that, we'd like to ask Harm and Mac out here for one more dance."

As Harm and Mac made their way back out to the dance floor, Bud continued, "Several of their friends got together and asked that we be allowed to chose the song that they dance to and they agreed once we assured them that the song would be very appropriate to their relationship and not embarrassing or anything like that.

"The song we chose is very important for two reasons. First, it brings to mind Harm and Mac's first meeting four years ago. Second, this particular song kind of marks the beginning of their romantic relationship," he concluded as the music began and the lights dimmed on the dance floor.

"Okay, I guess everyone had a good idea," Mac admitted as Harm took her into his embrace, recognizing the beginning strains of Bette Midler's 'The Rose'. "At least this time we don't have to worry about other people we're involved with seeing how tormented we are."

Harm got a far away look in his eyes as he remembered the first time they had danced to this song. "You have no idea how much I just wanted to sweep you into my arms and carry you away that night," he admitted.

"Probably as much as I wanted you to," she countered softly.

"That night was the start of a new beginning for us," Harm pointed out with a grin, "and at least we got it right this time."

As the song ended, Harm and Mac stopped in the middle of the dance floor and treated everyone to a show as they engaged into a dazzling, passionate kiss. As they broke apart, Bud made another announcement. "Can we please have all the single ladies out in the middle of the dance floor for the tossing of the bouquet?"

As the single females gathered, Harriet handed Mac the second bouquet purchased just for the toss. Mac climbed onto a small platform set up at the edge of the dance floor and looked back over her shoulder to make sure no one was missing. Satisfied that all the single women – and girl, in Chloe's case – were out there, she tossed the bouquet in a high arc over her head, the flowers landing squarely in Carolyn's waiting hands.

As a chair was brought for Mac to sit in, she leaned over and whispered to Harm, joking, "You throw that garter anywhere but directly at Keeter and you'll spend our wedding night out of our bed."

"Are you threatening me, Marine?" he teased with a grin as she sat down. Someone brought forward a small mat and set it in front of Mac so that Harm could kneel without dirtying his dress whites as Eric Carmen's 'Hungry Eyes' began playing.

As the single guys gathered, Harm knelt on one knee in front of Mac and slide his hands under her skirt. Lifting her right leg slightly, he let his hands slowly travel up her leg, his fingers teasing and massaging through her stockings. They were barely aware of the hoots and hollers behind them.

Mac inhaled sharply as his fingers brushed a particularly sensitive area behind her knee. Her breathing unsteady, she managed to whisper, "I'd be careful, Sailor. I just may have to drag you out of here in front of all the people and have my way with you."

Harm grinned at her, the look in his eyes letting her know he had no intention of stopping. His fingers found the garter sitting mid-thigh, but his hands traveled up even further, teasing her for a moment before he hooked two fingers under the garter and slowly pulled it down her leg.

Pulling it over her foot, Harm pulled his hands out from under her skirt and lifted one arm high above his head, holding the blue garter. As the men whistled, joking and teasing about how long it had taken to remove the garter, Harm climbed onto the platform and search the crowd of men for his old roommate. He saw Jack standing at one side of the knot of men, making it a little easier for Harm to aim the garter in his direction.

Turning his back to the group, he imagined where everyone was in his mind and let the garter fly over his head. Looking down at Mac still seated in the chair, the satisfied smile on her face informed him that his aim had been good. He offered his hand to her, pulling her up as the DJ announced a dance for Carolyn and Jack.

"Nice work," she complimented him as they headed back for the main table, stopping to smile broadly at Jack and Carolyn, who nodded their thanks.

"You wouldn't happen to have planned that, would you?" Harriet teased as Harm and Mac sat down at their table, referring to Jack and Carolyn.

Mac smiled sweetly, a look of complete innocence on her face. "You mean like you did two and a half years ago?" she countered.

Harriet shrugged as she pointed out, "It may have taken two and a half years, but yours was the next wedding."

Mac thought about it for a moment, then started laughing. "I guess you're right about that," she admitted as Harm started laughing too, having just realized the same thing.

"Well, Marine, are you about ready to get out of here?" Harm asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Give me a few minutes to get changed and I'm ready to go," she promised, brushing his lips with hers. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Deanne. "Mom, would you like to come upstairs with me and help me change?"

Deanne looked startled and asked nervously, "Are you sure you don't want someone else to help you?"

Mac didn't hesitate before shaking her head. She replied, "No, Mom, I'm sure that I'd like you to come with me."

Tears in her eyes, Deanne rose from the table with Harm and Mac. "Bud, could you check outside and make sure the limo driver is ready for us and then get everyone to start moving outside?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," Bud replied, rushing off to do as requested while Harm, Mac and Deanne slipped out of the hall through a side door.

Upstairs, Mac easily found the room that the club management said she could use to change in, her traveling outfit and a garment bag for her dress already laid out for her inside. "I'll wait out in the hall for you," Harm said, squeezing Mac's hand comfortingly. He leaned in to kiss her and whispered, "Good luck with your mother."

Mac smiled at him as she and Deanne entered the room, closing the door behind them. Mac went to stand in front of the mirror hanging on one wall and removed her veil, careful not to mess the curls in her hair too much. Deanne took the veil from her and carefully folded it and laid it in the box it had come out of that morning.

"Can you help me with these buttons?" Mac asked. Deanne stepped behind her and swiftly unfastened the buttons running down the back of the dress, then helped Mac lift the dress over her head. Deanne hung the dress neatly back on its hanger while Mac pulled on the tan knee-length skirt she was going to wear.

"Sarah, I want to thank you for letting me be a part of today," Deanne said as she pulled the garment bag over the wedding dress and closing it. "I know I don't deserve ..."

Pulling on her cream silk blouse, Mac turned to her mother and interrupted, "Mom, I'd like to say something. For very valid reasons, I've been very angry for the way you walked out, leaving me with Joe Mackenzie, and for the way we left things in Fresno when he died. But recently I've started to realize some things."

She sat down, kicking off her wedding shoes in favor of a pair of flats the same color as her skirt. Slipping her shoes on, she continued, "I've never been in your shoes, so I can't say that I understand why you did what you did and I can't say that if I hadn't been in your position, that I wouldn't have done the same thing. Another thing is that I could just as easily still become an alcoholic, married Chris – or someone like him - and made so many of the other mistakes that I made even if you had taken me with you. I can't say with any certainty that my life would have been better if you had taken me with you and I can actually think of some ways in which my life might have been worse."

"Sarah, I ..." Deanne began, tears falling from her eyes as she came over to stand beside Mac's chair.

"Please let me finish," Mac pleaded, her own tears falling. She took a deep breath, then continued, "I have a very good life right now – a wonderful husband whom I adore and who feels the same for me, two babies on the way, a great career. Yes, I've been through some pretty rough times to get to this place and some of that did stem from what happened when you left. But if my life had gone differently in the past, I probably wouldn't we where I am right now. Because of that, I can't blame you for ruining my life when I've managed to overcome my problems and build a very good life for myself.

"I can't say 'I love you' right now and it will probably be a long time before I can, but if you are really serious about trying to build a new relationship, then I'd like to try to." Crying freely as she finished, Mac felt herself being pulled into her mother's arms. She wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and held on, happy to be held for a few moments.

Finally, Mac pulled away and started wiping her eyes. "Hold on a minute," Deanne suggested, pulling some tissue from a box. "You'll smear your makeup doing that." She wiped Mac's face, careful not to ruin her makeup. Satisfied, she dabbed her own eyes with the bunched up tissue.

"I'll take your dress downstairs and make sure it gets back to your house," Deanne said, picking up the garment bag and the box with the veil.

"Mom, how long were you planning on staying in DC?" Mac asked as she picked up her wedding shoes and handed them to Deanne.

"I hadn't really thought about it," she replied. "I don't have a job to get back to, but I didn't want to make any firm plans in case things didn't work out with you."

"Well, Uncle Matt has to go back to Leavenworth on Monday," Mac explained, "and Harm's family will also be going home, so there won't be anyone at our house. Sydney and the Admiral were going to stop by, since they live across the street, to pick up the mail, newspapers and to take care of Jingo, our dog. If you'd like to stick around until we get back from our honeymoon, you're welcome to stay at our house. You'd be doing us a favor."

Deanne was stunned into silence, surprised that Mac would make such an offer. Finally, she replied, "If you don't mind, I'd love to."

Mac smiled and patted her arm. "Good," she said. "I'll talk to Sydney and the Admiral before we leave and I'm sure if you need anything you can call on them. Uncle Matt has the spare key to the house right now, so he can just give it to you before he goes back to Leavenworth instead of giving it to Sydney. I had written out Jingo's care instructions for Sydney and posted them on the refrigerator door. I don't know where we're going, but Harm will have his beeper in case of an emergency."

"Sarah, I'm sure I'll be fine," Deanne assure her as she pulled open the door and they stepped out into the hall. "Trish introduced me to Sydney and the Admiral yesterday morning and they seem like nice enough people. I'm sure they'll be willing to help if I need it."

"Good," Mac said, sighing with relief. As they started back downstairs, she told Harm, "Mom's going to stay at our place until we get back."

Harm smiled at her and pulled her against his side. "I'm glad," he said softly, kissing the top of her head.

As the reached the downstairs hallway, Deanne stopped and turned to them. "Thank you again for letting me be a part of today," she said, smiling.

"We're glad that you could be here, too," Harm told her. Releasing Mac, he hugged Deanne.

"Welcome to our family, Harm," Deanne said. "I know you'll take good care of my daughter."

"Well, she knows how to kick my six if I don't," Harm joked as he watched Mac hug her mother again.

"Don't worry," Mac said, "Harm has always been really good at taking care of me, even when I haven't needed him to."

"Have a good time on your honeymoon," Deanne said as she headed outside to join the rest of the guests, "and I'll see you when you get back."

"Looks like everyone's ready out there," Mac said quietly, looking out the door. "Are you ready to take me to paradise, Sailor?"

Harm laughed at the irony of Mac's terminology. When she shot him a puzzled glance, he calmed and said, "Definitely ready."

Holding hands, Harm and Mac stepped out the door into the sunlight and started walking swiftly towards the waiting limousine under a shower of rose pedals and to calls of 'Goodbye' and 'Good luck' from the crowd. They climbed into the back of the limousine, kissing as the driver closed the door behind them. The driver walked around and got behind the wheel, driving the newlyweds off to start their new life together.

-----

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

FRIDAY, 26 JANUARY 2001  
1825 ZULU  
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT  
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Sergei watched the passengers disembarking from the plane, reflecting that he felt a lot calmer and less nervous than the last time he had stood at the airport awaiting a flight from San Diego.

Stepping out of the jet way, Trish searched the crowd for a familiar face, finally spotting him standing off to one side out of the crush of the crowd. "There he is, Frank," she told her husband.

"Sergei!" she called out, walking towards her stepson. Sergei finally spotted Trish and Frank and started towards them.

"It's good to see you again," Trish said, hugging him warmly. She had spoken to Sergei several times on the phone after the younger man had moved to Washington and Harm had filled her in on Sergei's background. By the time they had met in person at Christmas, Trish had developed a warm and friendly relationship with her stepson.

"It is good to see you, Trish," Sergei returned her greeting. He then turned to Frank and offered his hand. "It is good to see you, Frank."

"Harm and Mac are at work?" Trish asked as Sergei took her carry-on bag and they started towards baggage claim.

"Yes," Sergei replied. "Harm is in court this afternoon and he did not want Mac to drive in this weather. I told Harm I would come to the airport."

"So how are they doing?" Frank asked. "Is everything okay with the babies?"

Sergei considered his answer, causing Trish to asked worriedly, "The babies are fine, right?"

"Yes, they are good," Sergei answered hurriedly. "I am sorry. I do not mean to concern you. Harm and Mac are, um, bespokoit'sya ..." he trailed off, trying to think of the proper word in English. As good as his English was, every so often he would draw a blank when trying to translate something.

Finally, it came to him and he continued, "Anxious, that is it. They are anxious because the babies have not been born yet. Mac is ystaly – weary ..."

Trish relaxed as she realized what he was trying to say. "She is tired from carrying the babies and they were expecting them to have been born by now," she concluded.

"Yes, that is it," Sergei agreed, thankful that he had gotten his point across on his own. There were times occasionally when he did need his sister-in-law to help him translate. "Harm told me the doctor said the babies would probably be born early and it is surprising that they are not born yet."

"If this pregnancy goes on much longer," Trish commented, "Mac may be ready to kill Harm." At Frank and Sergei's blank looks, Trish shook her head. Men. How could they ever truly understand about pregnancy?

-----

1910 ZULU  
JAG HEADQUARTERS  
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

"Colonel, here's that case file you requested," Tiner said, handing Mac a thick folder. Mac took it with a tired sigh.

"Thanks, Jason," she said wearily, rubbing her neck. "Is Commander Rabb still in court?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied. "The last time I checked, it sounded like it was still going to be a while. The defense attorney appeared to be objecting to everything the Commander asked."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of trial law, Jason," she said dryly. She got a thoughtful look on her face, tapping her temple with her finger.

"Did you need anything else, Ma'am?" Tiner asked.

"I don't think so," she replied. "I'm just trying to think if there's anything else that I need to take care of before I start my leave. After all, you guys won't be seeing me at work for at least two months – probably more the rate this pregnancy is going." Mac had already planned to take two months off after the babies were born. Since twins tend to arrive early, even though these twins had not shown an inclination to do so as of yet, Dr. Calder had insisted that Mac's maternity leave begin no later than 29 January. Mac was looking forward to sitting at home just waiting for the babies to be born about as much as she was looking forward to having a root canal. The only thing so far that made the idea bearable was that she would have various family members around to help keep her from going crazy.

"Darling, sounds like your children already have their father's sense of timing," Trish commented, knocking on Mac's open office door. Mac looked up and smiled broadly at her in-laws.

"I'd definitely have to agree with that and I hope to do something about it once they're born. Mom, Frank, it's good to see you," she greeted them, pushing herself out of her chair by using her hands on her desk as leverage. "How was your flight?"

"It was pretty good," Trish replied, hugging Mac. "We ran into some bad weather over the center of the country. How are you doing or need I ask?"

Mac sighed dramatically. "Exhausted, aching," she replied. "I never thought I'd ever say this, but I wish I would give birth early. My back aches all the time, I feel like I weigh as much as an elephant and these babies are so active that I never seem to be able to get any sleep anymore."

"Well, as much as I wish I could say that I understand completely," Trish said, "I've never had twins. I know you're probably sick of hearing this, but they will get here eventually. Once they are, you'll find that all the aches and pains were worthwhile."

"I hope so," she said. She walked around the desk to hug Frank. "How are you doing, Frank?"

"I'm doing good," he replied simply. As a man, he thought it was better if he didn't try to commiserate about how she was feeling during the last days of her pregnancy.

"I'm sorry," Mac said, indicating Tiner. "Both of you remember Jason Tiner, don't you? Jason, you remember Harm's parents, Trish and Frank Burnett?"

"Yes, we do," Trish said, "although he was still a Petty Officer the last time when we saw you at the wedding. Harm and Mac said you have been at OCS. Congratulations on your commission."

"Thank you, Mrs. Burnett," Tiner replied. "Mr. Burnett, it's good to see you again. Colonel, if you don't need anything else, I'll go check on the Commander in court."

"Thank you, Jason," she said, dismissing him. "Would you guys like to take a walk around with me? I'm supposed to get up and walk around at least once every couple hours and I'm a little overdue."

"Sure," Trish agreed for all of them. "Do you just walk around the halls?"

"In weather like this, yes," Mac replied, referring to the light snow that was currently falling, adding to the four inches already on the ground. "Have you guys had anything to eat yet? We could go down to the cafeteria and pick something up."

-----

They all picked up something to eat and took their food back to Mac's office, eating while Mac and Sergei caught Trish and Frank up on everything that had been going on since their visit at Christmas.

"So, are your friends planning a baby shower or have you already had one?" Trish asked.

"Baby shower?" Sergei asked. He had never heard the term before.

"It's a party usually held near the end of a pregnancy where the mother's friends will bring gifts for the new baby," Mac explained to him. "And to answer your question, Carolyn and Harriet have organized one to be held Sunday afternoon. It's going to be coed."

"Good, I was hoping that we wouldn't have missed it," Trish said. "You can count on Frank and I being there."

"Good," Mac said. "What about you Sergei? Can you be home for the party on Sunday?"

"Why would I not attend a party for my niece and nephew?" Sergei countered, confused.

"Because some men have the idea that baby showers are for women only," Mac replied, a hint of anger in her voice.

Trish, Frank and Sergei all exchanged looks, having the feeling that she was talking about one man in particular. Trish decided that it was probably best to change the subject. "What about your family? How are they doing?"

"Mom is doing good," Mac replied. "She likes the apartment we helped her find and she's been keeping busy with crafts, making a lot of things for the babies." Deanne had decided after Harm and Mac had returned from their honeymoon to stay in the DC area so that she could rebuild her relationship with her daughter and build a new one with her grandchildren. Since she was living on disability income, it was no problem for her to pack up and move across the country. "Uncle Matt's parole hearing is on Wednesday, so he should be here by Thursday or Friday depending on paperwork. Bud had been helping Harm with the prep work for the hearing, just in case Harm can't leave DC."

"That's good to hear," Frank said. "I'm sure you don't want to hear this from the perspective of the pregnancy lasting any longer, but your uncle is probably hoping that he'll get here before the babies are born."

"Yes, he is," Mac admitted. "I do have to admit that it would be nice if he can be here although that means holding out another week."

"What about you, Sergei?" Trish asked. "How are your classes and ROTC going?"

"It is good," he replied. "The ROTC is not as hard as my training in the Russian Army. Some of my classes are more difficult than others, but I have some friends at school who are helping in exchange for Russian language and history lessons. Many people are fascinated that I come from Russia."

"I imagine meeting someone from a former communist country would be fascinating," Trish commented. "And the car is working out for you?"

"Yes, it has been good to have a car," Sergei replied. "Thank you." Once he had gotten his US driver's license, Harm and Mac had discovered the problems of three people trying to share two cars, especially once winter arrived and made driving the Corvette problematic at times. Trish and Frank had solved the problem by getting Sergei a Jeep for Christmas. Although embarrassed at first by what he had thought to be an extravagant gift, they had insisted. Now, Frank got a delight out of teasing Harm and Mac that at least one member of the family drove a car made by Chrysler.

"Mom, Frank," Harm said as he entered Mac's crowded office. "Jason said you guys had gotten here."

"How are you?" Trish asked, standing to hug her son.

"I'm good," he replied, although Trish thought he looked a little tired. He probably wasn't getting much more sleep than Mac was. "How was your flight?"

"A little bumpy in the middle and long," Frank replied, "but we're glad to be here."

"Have you guys been home yet?" Harm asked.

Trish knew where this was going. They'd had almost the same discussion at Christmas. "Harm, we're staying at the Doubletree in Arlington," she told him. "You're going to have even more people around than you did at Christmas. You've got three bedrooms besides the master – the nursery takes up a room and your brother is occupying a room. You've only got one more bedroom and aside from us, you've got Mac's uncle and your grandmother coming for the birth. We can't all stay at your house."

"Mom, we have room," Mac insisted. "Uncle Matt has already said that he's going to stay with my mother once he's released. And Sergei has offered to sleep downstairs in the spare room in the basement and let Gram have his room. That leaves one spare bedroom that you two can use."

"We don't want Sergei to be put out either," Frank insisted, but Sergei shook his head.

"It was my idea," he said. "You should not come to visit and stay in a hotel."

Frank and Trish looked at each other and shrugged. "Okay, we'd be happy to stay at the house," Trish conceded.

-----

SATURDAY, 27 JANUARY  
1520 ZULU  
THE RABBS' RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Harm sifted through the hardware that came with the crib, looking for two tiny screws called for in the instructions. He was ready to throw his hands up in frustration when he heard his brother's voice from the doorway.

"You know how to fix furniture, big brother?" Sergei asked teasingly.

Harm almost smiled at the question, which echoed one he had been asked in Russia several months ago. He sighed as he replied, only half joking, "Let's hope so or these kids will be sleeping on the floor."

Sergei sat on the floor next to Harm and looked at the instructions and then at the pieces scattered over the floor. "You need some help, Harm?" he asked.

Harm nodded gratefully. "Right now, I'm looking for these screws," he said, pointing to the instructions. It only took a moment before Sergei held up the pieces in question.

"Guess I needed another pair of eyes," Harm commented as he took the screws. Picking up the two pieces he needed to fasten together, he positioned them then motioned to Sergei to hold them in place while he put in the screws.

With Sergei's help, the work went a lot faster and it wasn't long before they had one crib completely assembled. As they moved the crib into position along the wall Mac had designated earlier, Frank appeared in the doorway.

"I can't believe that you're just now getting around to putting the cribs together," Frank commented. "I would have thought that with the possibility of the twins arriving early you would have had the nursery finished already."

Harm shrugged as he stepped back to survey the placement of the crib. "There always seemed to be something going on," he explained. "One weekend I had to go out to the _Sea Hawk_, another weekend the new Congress had been seated and I had to meet with the new members of the Armed Services Committee."

"And he is having trouble putting the cribs together," Sergei teased, causing Harm to pull him into a headlock.

Frank watched the teasing, playful attitude between the brothers with amusement, reflecting on how relaxed and at ease Harm seemed to be. There had been so many changes in his life recently but they all appeared to be changes for the better. After watching them tussle for a few minutes, Frank cleared his throat and asked, "Could you use some help putting the second crib together?"

Harm and Sergei quickly pulled apart as if embarrassed to be caught goofing off. Harm shrugged sheepishly and replied, "Sure."

The three men working together, it took even less time to get the second crib assembled. Once the were finished and the crib moved to its place beside the first crib, Harm stepped back and looked at the cribs, a faraway look in his eyes.

"You okay?" Frank asked. Both he and Sergei looked at Harm with concern.

Harm shook his head as if to clear it and replied, "Yeah. I was just thinking about the babies. Now that they're almost here there's a lot of things to think about. I'm just wondering ..."

"What kind of father you're going to make?" Frank concluded.

Harm nodded. "I imagine it would be hard enough learning to deal with just one baby," he continued, "and we're getting two."

"Harm, let me tell you something," Frank suggested. "Now, obviously, I don't have any experience with babies since your mother and I decided not to have any of our own, but children in general do not come with instruction manuals. All that you can ever do is to do the best you possibly can and deal with any mistakes you make as best you can."

"It couldn't have been easy," Harm pointed out, "dealing with a resentful thirteen-year-old who wanted nothing to do with you."

Frank shrugged while Sergei watched them curiously. He hadn't seen or heard anything since he'd been in Washington to indicate that Harm and Frank's relationship had ever been anything less than warm.

"I knew what I was getting into when I married Trish," he pointed out. "All I ever wanted or tried to do was to be there for you, to be a friend if you needed one. Although I admit that it did hurt sometimes that I never could seem to do the right thing as far as you were concerned, I never thought of or loved you any less because of it. I understood that the circumstances made things difficult but I couldn't hold that against you."

"I'm sorry for that," Harm told him. "As I've said before, I was so wrapped up in the idea that my father was alive and maybe could come home that I didn't give you a chance. But I've realized some things, especially since Russia."

"You mean, because you found out our father had another family," Sergei realized.

"Exactly," Harm replied. "He moved on with his life. At that time he'd been a prisoner in the Soviet Union for eleven years and had no hope of ever returning home. But he found someone to love and he had another son. That doesn't mean that he loved Mom or me any less. But at least we can say that his last days were happy ones.

"Mom thought he was dead, so why shouldn't she move on with her life?" he continued. "Looking back, I realize that it wasn't fair to expect her to live her life in limbo waiting for someone who was never going to come home. She deserved to move on with her life and find happiness. It doesn't mean that she loved my father any less."

"I think that you're going to make an excellent father," Frank concluded.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because one of the most important things you learn in being a parent," he explained, "is how important it is to consider other people's feelings and what they need – in this case, your children. And. . . "

"I'm not as selfish as I used to be," Harm added quietly.

"I wasn't going to put it quite like that," Frank said with a smile.

"No, but I am saying that," Harm countered. "It was has always been about what I wanted or what I had to have. I never thought about what Mom wanted or what was best for her and I never cared about what you wanted and I've learned how wrong I was."

"Harm, I never thought that what you felt was wrong," Frank pointed out.

"I know that," Harm said. "And that's why you have been such a good father to me, even when I didn't deserve it. But you know what? Despite what I may have thought about our family situation in the past, I'm pretty lucky."

"How is that?" Sergei asked, the first time he had spoken in several minutes.

Harm smiled at Frank and Sergei. "Mom found a good man who makes her happy and not only did she get a great husband, I got a second father who had a lot to do with raising me into the man I am today," he explained. "Dad found a good woman to make him happy during the final two years of his life and I got a kid brother out of the deal."

"Thank you for that," Frank said, his eyes moist.

"No, I should be the one thanking you and apologizing for making you put up with me, Dad," Harm countered quietly. He made the statement so matter-of-factly that it took a moment before what Harm had said registered with Frank.

Frank turned and looked at Harm, stunned. Despite the fact that their relationship had been better in the last year than it ever had been, it still surprised Frank that Harm seemed to have completely and openly accepted him after nearly twenty-five years.

Harm shrugged at Frank's expression. "It's about time, don't you think?" he asked. "For most of my life, you've been the only father I've known."

"I don't know what to say ... I'm honored," Frank said. "As I've told you before, you're the only son I've ever had."

Sergei watched the interaction between Harm and Frank with interest. Harm noticed and asked, "What?"

"Do you realize how lucky you are?" Sergei asked. "I had not yet been born when our father died and just over two when my uncle died. For years, it was just my mother and me. I have wondered what it would be like to have a father."

Harm smiled. "It's scary how smart this kid is," he teased.

Frank laughed. "I think we all wish we could have been that smart at the age of eighteen," he remarked. Harm and Sergei both laughed.

-----

SUNDAY, 28 JANUARY  
1845 ZULU  
THE RABBS' RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

"Okay, how do we do this?" Mac asked with a laugh. "Is there anyone whose present just has to be opened first or can we just start taking them off the top of the pile?" When no one answered, she added, "I guess that means I just start opening presents here. Harm, hand me one of those packages."

Harm handed her a shirt box off the top of the pile of present on the coffee table. Mac tore open the card, Harm reading it over her shoulder. "It's from Alfred Aldridge on the _Patrick Henry_," he announced. After Christmas, Alfred's time with JAG headquarters had ended when the _Patrick Henry_ had gone back out on deployment. Mac carefully unwrapped the box and pulled out two infant t-shirts with the _Patrick Henry_ logo on the front.

"Very appropriate since Daddy used to serve on the _Patrick Henry_," Mac said, smiling as she held up one of the t-shirts for everyone to see. Setting the shirt back in the box, she handed the box and card to Trish, who was writing down who gave them what, while Deanne was taking care of disposing of the wrapping paper. Harm handed Mac another box.

"This one's from Meg Austin," she said, reading the card. She added for the benefit of those who had never met Meg, "She's Harm's old JAG partner from years ago."

Opening the box, she squealed with delight when she saw Meg's gifts. "These are so cute," she exclaimed, tilting the box in Harm's direction so he could see. Meg's gift was also a pair of t-shirts, these ones Marine red with white lettering 'Don't mess with me, my mom's a Marine'.

"I guess our kids should have some Marine stuff," Harm said, shrugging as Mac showed one of the shirts around.

"Squid, if I were you, I'd remember that in our house right now, Navy is outnumbered two to one by Marines," Mac teased as he handed her the next box, this one rather large. As she opened the card, she looked at Sergei, who was standing on the other side of the room videotaping the shower, questioningly.

"That was in the box I received in the mail Thursday," Sergei said in response to her unasked question.

Mac read the card then told everyone, "This is from Sergei's mother in Russia." She lifted the lid off the box and gasped as she lifted out two baby quilts. "These are gorgeous," she exclaimed as she unfolded the first quilt. White in color, appliquéd on the quilt were scenes from a Russian folk tale 'The Snow Maiden'. The other quilt, brown in color, was similarly appliquéd with scenes from 'Peter and the Wolf'. "Your mother made these for us?"

"Yes," Sergei replied. "In the letter she wrote me, she said that she remembered you from when you were in Siberia. She said my brother was very lucky to have such a beautiful and strong woman. She wanted to make something for the babies because you are my family."

"And she would have said this about Harm being lucky to have Mac after they were in Svischevo two years ago?" Clay mused from his place at the back of the room. Rumor was that AJ had threatened Clay to get him to attend the shower, although many suspected that it actually hadn't taken too much convincing, given his seldom mentioned – or admitted to - soft spot for both Harm and Mac.

Mac started shaking her head. "We're not starting that again, are we?" she asked as Harm rolled his eyes and groaned. There were grins and chuckles from almost everyone else in the room.

"I do not understand," Sergei said.

Trish looked up from studying one of the quilts and said, smiling, "Your mother is a very smart woman, Sergei, which is more than I can say for your brother and his wife at times, especially back then." She folded the quilt and handed it back to Mac. "Anyway, these are beautiful. Your mother does very beautiful work, Sergei."

Harm surreptitiously watched the interaction between his mother and brother, still amazed at how well they got along. When he had first faced telling his mother about Sergei, he had been afraid the news that his father had another family would reopen old wounds. He'd been very surprised when Trish had calmly accepted the news. When she'd finally met Sergei at Christmas and had welcomed him into the family with open arms, he had finally worked up the courage to ask her how she had been able to accept the news so easily.

"How can I condemn your father for finding someone else when I did the same thing myself?" Trish had replied when he'd finally brought up the subject. "At least I have the comfort of knowing that your father had some happiness before he died – a woman who loved him, another son. Even if I did have a hard time dealing with it, I can't condemn Sergei for that. He's the innocent one in this entire situation."

"Harm?" Mac asked softly when she noted how distant he seemed. When he didn't acknowledge her, she gently shook his shoulder.

He finally turned and looked at her. "What?" he whispered.

"You okay?" she asked, concern evident in her eyes.

"Yeah," he replied. Louder, he added, grabbing another present and handing it to her, "Time for the next gift."

Mac studied him as she took the large box, resolving to mention it later in private. Opening the card, she told everyone, "This is from Chloe. She's on a school trip this weekend, so she couldn't come down for the party." Opening the box, she pulled out two teddy bears, one wearing a Navy flight suit and one wearing Marine cammies.

"Those are so cute," Jackie proclaimed. "Do they come in other uniforms?"

Harriet answered, "I've seen them in uniforms for all four services and for different specialties – drill sergeant, paratrooper, pilot ... Mac, are you okay?"

Mac was leaning forward slightly, a hand pressed to her side. The eyes of everyone in the room were on Mac as Harm put his arm around her and was ready to help her off the couch, but Mac pushed his arm away and straightened up. "I'm fine," she insisted. "It was just one of those Braxton-Hicks contractions."

"Are you sure?" Harm asked, concerned. "We can head to Bethesda ..."

"I said I'm fine," Mac snapped. "I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for three weeks now. I think I know what they feel like."

Harm was about to say something when he saw Trish out of the corner of his eye shaking her head. Forcing a smile, he picked up another gift and handed it to Mac.

-----

0225 ZULU

Harm entered the bedroom to find Mac already in bed lying on her side, the covers pulled up under her chin. He disappeared into the bathroom, returning a few minutes later dressed only in his boxers. He climbed into bed and scooted over so that he was lying right behind her, her back against his chest. Harm draped an arm over her, his hand resting on her stomach. When he leaned over her to kiss her cheek, he was surprised to find it wet with tears.

"Hey, what is it?" he asked, brushing the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

"I'm horrible," she whispered.

"Why? Because you snapped at me earlier?" he asked. "I think everyone understands that you're feeling a little out of sorts at times these days. At your last appointment, Dr. Calder said that the babies look like they're about six pounds each now, right?"

"Yeah," Mac replied. "So?"

"So that's twelve pounds worth of baby," he pointed out. "I would think that would be enough to make anyone feel tired and out of sorts. And if you take it out on me from time to time, well, I've had worse things said."

"I can't believe you're being so nice," she said.

"I love you, Sarah," he countered, "even when you're snapping at me. After all, I'm the reason you're in this position in the first place, right?" When she didn't say anything, he added, "Come on, that was funny."

Mac slowly rolled over so that she was facing him and Harm could see that she was smiling just a little. "Better," he declared, causing her to smile even more. He rolled onto his back and Mac slid closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder while Harm rested one hand on her belly as they both tried to drift off to sleep.

-----

WEDNESDAY, 14 FEBRUARY  
1315 ZULU  
THE RABBS' RESIDENCE  
MCLEAN, VIRGINIA

Harm was in the walk-in closet buttoning up his uniform shirt when Mac came in on her way to the bathroom. "Still can't sleep?" he asked. She had been restless all night long, even waking him up several times, although he had tried to remain as still as possible so that she wouldn't get upset that she was causing him to lose sleep.

"Babies are restless," she replied. "I just ..."

"I know," he interrupted. "You wish the babies would get here."

Mac leaned back against the wall and said, "You know, every time someone tells me that I look about ready to deliver or that it will be any day now or that twins almost never go to term, I just want to shake them."

"I know," he reminded her, "I saw how you reacted to Dr. Calder, remember?" At her last appointment two days earlier, when Dr. Calder had said that she should deliver any time now, Mac had snapped that she'd been hearing that for nearly a month and that she still wasn't any closer to delivering than she had been then. Fortunately, Dr. Calder had been an obstetrician long enough to have seen pregnant women go through many different emotional states, especially as they got close to the time to deliver.

"So what's going on at JAG today?" she asked, changing the subject. She dwelled enough on her never-ending pregnancy without talking about it all the time.

"Not much," he replied, pulling on his uniform jacket. "I've mostly got some paperwork that I need to get caught up on before I go on leave, especially since I've been acting as Chief of Staff the last couple of weeks."

"So if you've been taking my place since I've been on leave," she mused, "who takes your place once you go on leave?"

"The Admiral hasn't said anything to me," he replied, "but I would think it would either be Imes or Mattoni. So are you going back to bed?"

"Would it do any good?" she mused. At his look, she sighed and said, "Eventually. My back is bothering me, so I thought I would take a bath, see if it would relax me."

Harm held out his arms and she stepped into them, resting her head against his chest. "I'd give you a back rub if I didn't have to go to work. You going to be okay?"

Mac pulled back a little to look up at him. "Harm, it's not like I'm going to be alone here," she reminded him. "Your grandmother's here, Sergei only has one class today so he'll probably be home most of the day and except for going out for brunch for Valentine's Day, your parents will be home most of the day, too. I'll be fine."

"Okay," he said, "but if you need anything, I've got my pager and cell phone ..."

"We go through this every day," he reminded him, laughing. "Harm, don't worry. If I do go into labor, you'll be the first to know."

Harm was about to respond when he felt one of the babies kick. Laughing, he put his hand on her stomach and said teasingly, "Hey, kids, how about putting your mom out of her misery soon? We're both pretty anxious to see you guys."

Mac smiled. Sometimes both of them would talk to the babies or Harm would get out his guitar and sing for them. It touched her to watch Harm act like that; Mac thought it showed just how wonderful a father he was going to be. She joked, "I'm going to have to work on them once they're born. They seem to have your sense of timing."

Harm kissed her. "Okay, I think on that note I'll head to work," he said, grinning. "Try to get some more sleep and let me know if you need anything."

-----

1535 ZULU

Mac slowly pushed herself onto her other side, trying to get as comfortable as possible, despite her aching back, so that she could try and get some more sleep. She couldn't remember the last time when she had slept for more than a couple of hours at a time before waking up for one reason or another. Ever since her bath, all she'd been doing was sleeping in snatches and trying to get comfortable. Why the hell can't men go through this? she wondered as she closed her eyes, trying to force herself to fall back asleep.

After lying there for about ten minutes, she gave up and pushed the covers back. Taking a moment to gather her strength, she pushed herself out of bed and slowly headed towards the closet. Pulling on a pair of sweats, she decided to go downstairs for a while. Frank and Trish would be at their brunch date and Sergei would be at school, but she could spend some time with Harm's grandmother. Maybe she could also give her mother a call and ask her to come over.

Slowly making her way down the stairs, Mac was surprised to find Sarah and Sergei in the living room looking through a photo album together. "I thought you had a class this morning," she said as she slowly sank into an armchair.

"Class was cancelled," Sergei replied, confusion evident in his voice, "because of the weather."

"It's snowing?" Mac asked. "I haven't even looked outside today."

"Actually, the news says it's the beginning of a pretty strong Nor'easter according to the weather on TV," Sarah explained. She went over to the window and pulled back the curtain so that Mac could see the snow blowing outside.

"It is coming down pretty good," Mac commented. "Maybe I should call JAG and see what's going on there. The Admiral may secure for the day."

"I do not understand," Sergei said. "Why are school and work closed when it snows?"

"Because this isn't Siberia," Mac replied. "Around here, we don't get snow storms like this very often and when we do, the streets are a mess. I'd bet there's probably already been twenty accidents on the Beltway."

"Sergei, the problem with some American drivers is that they drive the same, no matter what the weather is like," Sarah added. "A lot of people don't have the sense to slow down when there's rain, snow or ice on the roads."

"I think ..." Sergei began, trailing off when the lights flickered for a moment then went out.

"Mac, honey, do you have some candles?" Sarah asked.

"They're in the kitchen," Mac replied, starting to get up. Sarah waved her back down.

"Just tell me where they are," she insisted. "I can get them. Sergei, why don't you bring some firewood in? With the heat off, it's going to get cold in here very quickly."

While Sergei was out bringing in firewood and Sarah was getting the candles, Mac picked up the phone, then remembered that a cordless phone would not work with the power off. She went into the office and brought the phone from there into the living room. The new phone connected to the phone line, she now got a dial tone. She dialed Harm's office number and was surprised when Gunny answered.

"Gunny, it's Colonel Rabb," Mac said. "I was looking for the Commander."

"The Admiral secured for the day," he informed her. "Commander Rabb left about ten minutes ago with the Admiral."

The news didn't surprise Mac. "Thanks, Gunny," she said. "You have a safe drive home." She hung up the phone as Sarah came back into the living room with an armful of candles.

"Did you just try to call Harm?" Sarah asked as she set the candles up around the living room.

"Yes, but he left JAG about ten minutes ago according to Gunny," Mac replied. "The Admiral secured for the day because of the weather. It usually takes about twenty minutes to get here from JAG, so I'd guess it'll take at least forty minutes, maybe more, today the way that snow is coming down."

"At least you know he's on his way," Sarah said, lighting the candles. "I hope Frank and Trish decide to cut their brunch short and get back here. Being from Southern California, they are definitely not used to this weather."

"Here is the firewood," Sergei said, entering with an armload of firewood, setting it in the basket next to the fireplace. "Do you want a fire upstairs?"

"Yeah, we probably should start one up there, too," Mac replied, crossing her arms and rubbing them. "There's no telling how long the power will be out and it's already getting cold in here."

"I will get more firewood," he said, heading towards the back door again while Sarah began stacking the wood in the fireplace.

Mac pushed herself out of her chair and said, "I'm going to put another layer of clothes on and get some blankets to use until it warms up in here. Do you want anything from upstairs, Gram?"

"A blanket would be nice, dear," Sarah replied.

"Okay, I'll be back down in a few minutes," Mac said. She headed upstairs, pausing on the landing halfway up when she felt a pain in her back. After a few seconds, the pain was gone and she continued up the stairs. But as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, she doubled over in extreme pain, crying out as the first contraction hit and her water broke, clutching the railing as she fell to her knees.

"Alright, kids, when you father suggested putting me out of my misery by hurrying up and getting here, I don't think he meant arriving in the middle of a Nor'easter," she said aloud between gasps for breath. She leaned her head back against the wall and tried to focus on her Lamaze breathing while she waited for the contraction to pass.

Sergei was heading up the stairs with the wood for the fireplace in the master bedroom when he saw Mac collapsed at the top of the stairs. Dropping the wood on the floor, he fell to his knees next to her. "Mac, the babies are coming?" he asked.

Mac nodded as she continued breathing through the contraction, exhaling a long breath as the pain eased. She looked up at him and said, "This is definitely it. My water broke and that was no Braxton-Hicks contraction."

"I will help you to your room?" Sergei asked, putting his arm around her to help her up.

"No, let's go downstairs," Mac replied. "We need to figure out how to get to the hospital."

Sergei helped her back down the stairs and into the living room, calling for his grandmother. Sarah, who had gone to bring Jingo in from outside, came racing into the room as Sergei helped Mac onto the couch. She took one look and understood immediately what was going on.

"I'll call an ambulance," Sarah said. "I don't think we should even attempt to drive to the hospital ourselves in this weather." She picked up the phone and dialed 911.

"Yes, we need an ambulance," Sarah said once the operator came on the line, giving the address. "My granddaughter-in-law is in labor."

She listened for a minute, then said firmly, "Look, she's having twins. We need that ambulance as soon as possible." She was silent for another moment, then said, "Yes, that would be appreciated. Thank you."

As she hung up the phone, she looked at Mac sympathetically. "An ambulance will be sent," she said, "but there's no telling when it will arrive. All the ambulances are tied up right now with accidents and other emergencies so they're prioritizing other calls. Since you're not in a life-threatening situation, you'll have to wait. In the meantime, do you need anything?"

"Well, those blankets that I was going to get would be nice," Mac replied. "I'm still a little cold."

"Okay," Sarah said, patting Mac's shoulder. "I'll be right back. Sergei, you want to come help me?"

Sergei nodded and followed his grandmother upstairs. Once they were out of Mac's hearing, Sarah said, "I didn't want to worry Mac by telling her this, but I don't think an ambulance will get here, not in this weather. We may have to deliver the babies ourselves."

Sergei paled slightly, but didn't argue with her conclusion. "Have you delivered babies before, Gram?" he asked.

"Well, your father was born at home," she replied as she grabbed several blankets from the hall closet and handed them to Sergei. "Back then, a lot of babies were born at home. Of course, that was also over sixty years ago. It's been a long time since I was around babies being born. We just have to hope there are no complications."

"Complications?" Sergei echoed nervously.

"There is always the possibility of complications when giving birth," Sarah explained calmly, "even more so when there is more than one baby. We just need to stay calm. If complications arise, we'll deal with them when they do. There is a good possibility that everything will be just fine."

They went back downstairs with the blankets, finding Mac in the middle of another contraction. Sarah glanced at her watch, estimating the time since the previous contraction. As the contraction ended, Mac looked up at Sarah and answered her unasked question, "Just under four minutes between contractions."

Sarah handed her a blanket and said, "It could still be hours yet. That will give the ambulance time to get here."

"But it may not get here because of the weather," Mac concluded.

Sarah reluctantly nodded. Since Mac had brought the possibility up, Sarah didn't want to lie to her. "We just need to have faith that everything will work out fine," she said encouragingly.

Mac smiled and said, "I could really use Harm and the Admiral here right now."

"I can understand wanting your husband here," Sarah said, slightly confused, "but what can the Admiral do?"

Mac laughed at the memories. "Let's just say that for a lawyer, the Admiral makes a very good midwife," she said. "The Admiral delivered Bud and Harriet's first child on the floor of his office. Wait a minute. You know, I didn't even think of Sydney." She picked up the phone and dialed the Admiral's home number.

After three rings, the answering machine picked up. "Sydney, it's Mac," she said. "If you come home early from work, could you come over to my house? I went into labor and we called for an ambulance, which may or may not get here in time in this weather."

She hung up the phone and looked at Sarah and Sergei. "Hopefully, she'll make it home and can get over here," Mac said. "With twins, I would feel better at least having a doctor present."

She picked up the phone again and dialed another number. "I'm trying Harm's cell phone," she explained. After a moment, she hung up. "I was getting a 'no service' message. It's possible the storm is causing interference."

"Do you want to go upstairs and lie down?" Sarah asked. "It may be several hours, so you could try to get some rest while you can."

Mac considered for a moment, then nodded. "Will you guys come upstairs and keep me company?" she asked. "We could tell stories or something."

"Of course," Sarah replied. "Earlier, Sergei and I were going through one of my old photo albums and I was telling him stories about his father." She paused, noticing Mac tense with another contraction. She sat down next to Mac and rubbed her back soothingly while Mac breathed through the pain. Once Mac relaxed, Sarah and Sergei helped her get to her feet.

"Sergei, grab some of those candles," Sarah instructed, picking up the photo album that she and Sergei had been looking at earlier and handing it to Mac. "Here, carry this upstairs and I'll grab some more candles."

"The fire!" Sergei exclaimed. "I did not light the fire upstairs." He quickly took off upstairs to pick up the wood he had dropped earlier and to get the fire started in the master bedroom.

Mac looked at Sarah and shrugged. "He was carrying the firewood upstairs when he found me at the top of the stairs when my labor started. He just dropped the wood on the floor and forgot about it," she explained.

Sarah laughed. "You know, if Harm was home he would have done the same thing," she pointed out.

"It must be genetic," Mac added.

"You know, neither of them really knew their father all that long," Sarah pointed out, "but both of them are so much like him. Watching them is like getting to see my son again." She brushed a tear from her cheek and smiled. "You don't need to listen to an old woman ramble on. The phone upstairs, is it cordless?"

"Yes, it is," Mac replied, unplugging the phone she had earlier gotten out of the office. "I'll take this one upstairs with us."

Sarah and Mac went upstairs to find Sergei already had a good fire going in the fireplace. Mac climbed into bed and pulled the covers up around her, shivering slightly in the still chilly air. "Mac, do you want another blanket?" Sarah asked.

"That would be nice," she replied. Just after Sarah left to get another blanket, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Mac said into the phone.

"Sarah, it's Mom," Deanne said. "I wanted to check in and see how you're doing in this storm."

"Power went out about half an hour ago," Mac replied. "Sergei's here because his class got cancelled and he has lit a fire in both fireplaces. Harm's grandmother is getting some blankets for us to bundle up in until it warms up in here."

"What about Harm?" Deanne asked. "Have you spoken to him?"

"I tried calling JAG, but he had left about ten minutes earlier," Mac told her. "The storm looks like it's getting worse, so there's no telling how long it will take him to get here. Trish and Frank aren't here either. They had gone out for brunch for Valentine's Day."

"Sarah, are you okay?" Deanne asked. "I don't know, you just sound a little funny."

Mac took a deep breath and replied quietly, "Mom, my water broke just after the power went out."

"Oh my, baby," Deanne exclaimed. "Can you get to the hospital?"

"We decided not to risk trying to drive on our own, so Gram called for an ambulance," she explained, forcing herself to sound normal as another contraction hit. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sergei watching her with concern. "We don't know when it will get here. There's apparently a lot of accidents so those take priority."

"I'll see if Matt can drive me over there," Deanne suggested. "I think ..."

"Mom, don't even risk it," Mac insisted. "I don't want you and Uncle Matt to go out and get into an accident trying to get here. The best thing you can do is sit at home and pray that everything goes well."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mom," Mac said firmly. "Look, I'll have Gram or Sergei call you when anything happens. Just stay at home, try to stay warm and think good thoughts."

"You're right," Deanne said. "You've got enough to worry about without worrying about Matt and I being out on the roads. I love you, honey."

"I know, Mom and thanks," Mac said, hanging up the phone.

Sarah came back into the room with a stack of blankets in time to hear the tail end of Mac's conversation with her mother. "She wanted to try and come over here?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "She suggested that Uncle Matt try to drive her over here. I told her to stay put and that we would call her when ..." she trailed off.

"Honey, relax and try to think good thoughts yourself," Sarah said, taking Mac's hands in hers. "I know this is a little scary. Hell, I'd expect you to be scared even if you were sitting in a hospital room right now with a full team of doctors around. All we can do is believe that everything will be okay. After all, women used to give birth at home all the time."

"I just wish Harm was here," Mac said quietly.

-----

1805 ZULU

Mac's eyes fluttered open and she was surprised that a check of her internal clock showed that she'd slept for nearly two hours despite being in labor. A quick glance around the room showed lit candles scattered around the room, so she surmised that the power must still be out.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and noted that she was alone in the room. She started to get out of bed, but stopped when another contraction hit, this one the strongest yet.

As she struggled to breathe through the pain, Harm entered the room and raced to her side, pulling her into his arms and comforting her. Gasping for breath as the contraction ended, Mac look up at him and smiled. "When did you get home?" she asked.

"About an hour ago," he replied, his hand moving over her back in small circles. "You had fallen asleep, so we didn't want to disturb you. How do you feel?"

"Better now that you're here," she said, resting her head against his chest. "What's the weather like outside?"

"Getting worse, if anything," he replied. "The snow is falling faster than it can be plowed off the streets. Mom and Dad did call and said they're getting a room at a hotel near the restaurant they were at."

"Good, I don't want them to take any unnecessary risks trying to get back here," Mac said, pulling out of his arms and lying back against her pillows. "What about the Admiral? Is he here?"

"Yes, and so is Sydney," Harm told her. "She got home, got your message and came over here just before the Admiral and I arrived. Do you ... Sarah, what is it? Another contraction?"

Mutely, Mac nodded, gripping his hand tightly. Harm glanced at his watch and calculated that the contractions were now just over two minutes apart. He looked up to see Sydney standing in the doorway.

"How are we doing in here?" Sydney asked.

"Her contractions are just over two minutes apart," Harm replied. He breathed a sigh of relief when Mac relaxed as the contraction ended. "How much longer do you think it will be?"

"That's hard to say," Sydney replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Could be within the next hour or two, could be a lot longer than that. Harm, why don't you help Mac get changed into a nightgown and I'll examine her. Looking at how much she's dilated will give us an idea how long this will be."

Harm put an arm around Mac's waist and helped pull her to her feet, supporting her as they walked into the closet. He watched her carefully as she changed, ready to help if she needed it. But there was something in her expression that concerned him. "Sarah?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she insisted to his unasked question. Finished changing, she let him help her back out to the bed, where Sydney examined her.

"You're about eight or nine centimeters," Sydney announced.

"Close, but not quite," Mac said flatly.

"Mac, you are close," Sydney tried to reassure her. "Your contractions are just over two minutes apart and you're almost fully dilated. Try to relax as much as possible because I promise you won't have much opportunity in an hour or two. I'm going to go downstairs and have AJ and Sergei get some more wood for the fire."

As Sydney left the room, Harm followed and stopped her in the hall. "Sydney, is everything really okay?" he asked. "Sarah seems, I don't know, maybe a little worried or maybe anxious is a better word."

"Everything looks fine," Sydney insisted, realizing that he needed to be reassured as much as Mac did. "But this is her first delivery and we can't get her to the hospital, so she's bound to be a little anxious. The best you can do is to comfort her as much as possible. If she sees that you're calm, then that will help her tremendously."

Harm went back into the room as Mac was coming out of another contraction. He sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "I won't ask how you're doing," he said.

"Good, 'cause I'd have to kick your six," Mac retorted. Harm grinned at her statement.

"That sounds like my kick-ass jarhead," he teased.

"Harm," she said hesitantly, taking his left hand in hers and twisting the wedding ring on his finger, "do you think everything's going to be okay?"

"Of course I do," he replied, perhaps a little stronger than he should have. Taking a deep breath, he continued in a more even tone of voice, "Harriet managed to give birth to AJ in the Admiral's office with no problems. At least you've got a doctor here. Anyway, you've been in worse situations – the Appalachians, Coster, the _Watertown_, the shooting."

"Will you lay down with me?" she asked, patting the space beside her. "I want you to hold me."

"Anytime," he promised, lying down beside her on his side. Mac rolled over onto her side and slid back so that she was pressed against his chest. Harm draped an arm over her and took one of her hands in his, squeezing it comfortingly.

-----

1925 ZULU

"I hate to sound like a broken record," Mac ground out between pants as she breathed through another contraction, "but when is this going to be over?" Her contractions were so long and so close together that nearly as soon as one was over, the next one began.

"You're fully dilated now," Sydney reported, "but the first baby hasn't crowned yet."

"They'll be here soon," Harm tried to reassure her. "It's ..."

"Don't you dare tell me that it's going well and they'll be here soon," Mac retorted. "Why don't you try doing this next time?"

"I don't think that's possible," Harm said lightly. Mac just glared at him. "Just think about those beautiful babies that you'll be holding in your arms soon."

"Harm's right," Sydney agreed. "Soon your babies will be here and trust me as a mother when I say that nothing else will matter."

Mac nodded wearily as she leaned back against Harm's chest. She knew it had only been four hours since her water had broken, but it felt like she'd been in labor forever.

"I just want the babies to get here," Mac said softly.

"I know," Harm whispered, wrapping his arms around her. He pressed a kiss to her damp temple.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Sydney said. "Give a shout if you need anything, okay?"

Mac and Harm nodded as Sydney left the room. Harm rose from the bed as well. "I'll be right back," he said, going into the bathroom. Mac heard water running and Harm returned a minute later with a wet washcloth.

Gently, he wiped her face. Mac smiled as she remembered a similar show of concern in the past. "Are you going to promise to get me out of this?" she asked lightly.

Harm remembered the same incident. "It's good that you can joke," he commented as he set the washcloth aside. "What if I promise never to put you in this situation again?"

She laughed, realizing that he was teasing her. "Okay, you know how hard it is to laugh when I'm supposed to be breathing?" she asked between gasps of breath. "Harm, if you ... get Sydney, now. I need to push."

"No, don't push," he insisted as he ran into the hall. "Sydney, we need you now!" he called down the stairs.

"Sarah, honey, don't push yet," he encouraged her as Sydney rushed into the room followed by AJ. Harm could see his grandmother and brother hovering in the hall just outside the room, anxiously awaiting news.

"Okay, the first baby is crowning," Sydney said. "Mac, on the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can. Harm, do you guys have a baby bath?"

When Harm nodded, Sydney turned to Sarah. "Mrs. Rabb, can you get it for us? We'll need to clean up both of the babies. We'll also need diapers and sleepers for each of them and some baby blankets."

Sarah nodded, heading for the nursery with Sergei in tow. Mac tensed as she felt another contraction beginning, pushing as Harm held her, whispering words of encouragement. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out.

"You're doing good," Harm told her as the contraction ended as she relaxed against him. "It's almost over."

"Don't tell me it's almost over," Mac insisted wearily. "I've got to do this twice, remember?"

"This baby is almost here," Sydney pointed out. "Now give me another good push." As Mac pushed, the baby's head emerged and Sydney instantly realized there was a problem. "Stop pushing, Mac!" she cried out.

"Sydney, what's wrong?" Mac asked, terrified. Harm tried to look and see what Sydney was doing, but AJ shook his head. Every prayer he'd ever said in his life flashed through his mind as Mac gripped his hand tighter than she had during any of the contractions.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Harm and Mac, Sydney breathed a sigh of relief and told Mac, "It's okay. You can push now."

As she pushed, a prayer that everything be okay kept repeating itself in her head. Relaxing as the contraction ended, she burst into tears when she heard the hearty cry of a baby. Sydney held up a screaming, red infant. "Mom, Dad, here's your daughter," she announced, tears in her eyes.

Harm remembered the look of wonder on Bud's face when he'd first laid eyes on baby AJ and he finally understood the feeling as he looked at his daughter for the first time. "She's beautiful," he whispered, brushing her tiny foot with a finger as Sydney tied off the cord.

"Dad, would you like to do the honors?" Sydney asked, holding out a pair of medical scissors. His hand shaking slightly, Harm took the scissors and cut the cord. Sydney wrapped the baby in a towel and handed her to Harm, who found himself uncharacteristically tongue tied as he held his daughter for the first time. Tears were falling freely as he showed her to Mac.

"Hello, Sarah Patricia Rabb," Mac whispered through her tears, pressing a kiss to her daughter's head.

"I hate to break up this family moment," Sydney said, "but Sarah's brother is still waiting to join us. Harm, why don't you give Sarah to your grandmother and let her give the baby a sponge bath?"

Harm motioned his grandmother and brother into the room, Sergei carrying the baby bath. Carefully, Harm placed Sarah in her great-grandmother's arms. "Gram, meet your namesake, Sarah Patricia Rabb," Harm said.

"Aren't you a beautiful one, Sarah?" she remarked quietly. "I do believe you're going to look like your mother."

"Then she'll definitely be beautiful," Harm declared. He looked at Sergei, who looked a little nervous. "Sergei, would you like to hold your niece?"

Sergei looked even more nervous when he set the bath down and Sarah placed the baby in his arms, gently instructing him on the proper way to hold her. After a moment, he visibly relaxed. "She is beautiful," he agreed. "I have not been around babies much before."

"You'll have plenty of time to be around babies now," Harm pointed out. He turned and looked at Mac as Sarah and Sergei took the baby into the bathroom. "Speaking of babies, how are you doing?"

"Your son seems to be in no great hurry to join his sister," Mac declared.

Harm quirked an eyebrow at her. "My son?" he echoed.

Mac smiled despite the pain of another contraction. "We've already established these kids have your sense of timing," she joked.

"There's no telling with twins how long it will be between babies," Sydney told them. "It could be a few minutes; it could be half an hour."

"Half an hour!" Mac exclaimed, panting. "I didn't want to hear that."

"The baby's not crowning yet, so it will be some time," Sydney said.

"Sydney, what happened with Sarah?" Mac asked hesitantly. Despite the fact that Sarah was obviously fine, she had to know what had happened earlier.

Sydney hesitated, but a look at both Harm's and Mac's faces told her they were not going to let it go. "The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck," she replied. "When you pushed, it caused the cord to tighten, so I needed you to stop pushing while I loosened the cord."

"But she will be fine?" Harm asked.

"Yes," Sydney replied without hesitation. "It's not an everyday occurrence, but it's not unheard of for the cord to get wrapped around the baby."

"What about Matt?" Mac asked. "Will the same thing happen to him?"

"Probably not," Sydney replied. "Try not to worry. Everything is going well so far, the scare with the umbilical cord notwithstanding."

Almost half an hour later with the other baby still not born, Mac was just about convinced that it was some kind of male conspiracy to torment her. Harm couldn't even open his mouth at this point without her snapping at him, so he just kept his mouth shut. She had even snapped at AJ, who had been shocked at her uncharacteristic behavior. Sergei had disappeared before she could bite his head off too, ostensibly to get more wood for the fires.

"Mac, come on," Sydney tried to encourage her. "Your son's almost here."

"He's been almost here for half an hour," she retorted weakly. "When is he actually going to be here?"

"How does a few minutes sound?" Sydney asked. "The baby's crowning, so give me a good push on the next contraction."

"Come on, Sarah," Harm said. "Do you want to see our little boy?"

Mac nodded weakly even as she said, "I'm so tired now."

"I know," Sydney said. "You've worked hard already to give birth to one baby. We just need a little bit more and then you'll have your son." Encouragement from another woman who was also a mother was just what Mac needed to push.

"That's good, Mac," Sydney said encouragingly. "The baby's almost here. Just one more push and he should be here."

'Just one more', Mac repeated in her head. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on bringing her son into the world. She opened her eyes when she heard a baby cry and saw Sydney tying off her son's cord.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He's perfect," Harm declared as he cut the cord and took the baby into his arms. He placed the baby in Mac's arms and put his arm around her shoulder as they both looked down at their son.

"He is perfect," Mac agreed. She kissed the tiny hand wrapped around her finger. "Hello, Harmon Matthew Rabb."

"I love you, Sarah," Harm whispered as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. "Thank you for our beautiful children."

Mac smiled, more tears falling. "No, thank you for creating with me the family I've always wanted."

-----

2305 ZULU  
BETHESDA NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER  
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Harm raced down the hallway, looking for the flower shop. He finally found it at the end of the hall, but the lights were out and the door was being locked by a store employee.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked. "Would it be possible to buy some flowers real quick before you leave?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but the flower shop closes at six," the clerk replied, "which was a few minutes ago."

"My wife was just brought in by ambulance," Harm explained, giving her his best flyboy grin. "She gave birth to twins at home a few hours ago and I wanted to get her some roses for Valentine's Day. The ones I had ordered for her a few days ago weren't delivered to our home because of the weather."

The clerk relented and unlocked the shop door. "I'd say a woman who just gave birth to twins definitely deserves flowers," she remarked as she flipped on the light, "especially on Valentine's Day."

"Thank you," Harm said gratefully. "I'd like two dozen roses."

The clerk got the roses out of the refrigerated case and arranged them in a vase. "What did she have?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Your wife, did she have boys or girls?" she asked.

"One of each," Harm replied. The clerk grabbed three balloons and inflated them, attaching them with ribbon to the vase. One was a red heart proclaiming 'Happy Valentine's Day' and the other two proclaimed 'It's a boy' and 'It's a girl'. "Free of charge," she explained. "I'm a sucker for romance."

Harm handed over his credit card to pay for the roses and a card to go with them. While the clerk ran his credit card, Harm wrote a short message in the card and sealed it in its envelope. "Thank you," he repeated. "I appreciate you letting me get these flowers."

"I hope your wife enjoys them," she remarked as she slid the credit card slip across the counter for him to sign.

"They're roses," he replied, "so I don't think I have to worry about whether or not she'll like them."

"Her favorite flower?"

"Yes but that's not the only reason she'll like them," Harm explained as he picked up the vase. "We met in a rose garden."

-----

1825 ZULU  
ROOM 425  
BETHESDA NAVAL MEDICAL CENTER  
BETHESDA, MARYLAND

Mac turned on the television and started flipping through the channels. Harm had gone to admissions to fill out her paperwork and as soon as she had been settled in her room, the twins had been whisked away to be examined and their measurements taken.

Finding nothing on, she turned the television off and tossed the remote onto the bed. She was about to pick up the phone when Harm entered the room, carrying the vase of roses in front of him.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he proclaimed, setting the flowers on the nightstand and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you," she said, her hands on either side of his face. "They're beautiful." She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss.

"I love you," he whispered as they broke off the kiss. "We've come a long way from where we were a year ago."

Mac was puzzled for a moment, then she remembered. "Yeah, we have come a long way since Australia," she agreed.

"If someone had told me a year ago that you and I would finally be together and that we would be celebrating the birth of our son and daughter, I would have said they were crazy," he remarked.

"After the ferry, I would have thought the same thing," she said. "But we don't have to worry about any of that anymore, do we?"

Harm smiled and kissed her forehead, pulling away when he heard the door open. Dr. Calder walked in followed by two nurses bringing in the babies.

"Well, Mom, Dad," Dr. Calder said. "I think in my fifteen year medical career, these have got to be the healthiest twins I've seen. All those extra calories you consumed during your pregnancy really paid off. Sarah Patricia weighed in at six pounds four ounces and Harmon Matthew is six pounds seven."

"So they're fine? No ill effects from not being delivered in the hospital?" Mac asked.

"They're perfectly healthy," Dr. Calder reiterated. "In fact, there's no reason why all three of you can't go home on Friday just as if they'd been born here."

"Thank you," Mac said, tears forming as a nurse placed Sarah in her arms. She ran a finger over her daughter's features, marveling as tiny fingers wrapped around her finger.

"We'll just leave the four of you alone to get acquainted," Dr. Calder said. "I'll stop back in later to check on you."

Mac barely noticed when the doctor and nurses left, so enthralled in her babies was she. She looked over at Harm, who was holding Matt and looking down at him with a similar expression of awe and wonder. "I think he's going to look like his Daddy," she commented, watching Harm as he watched Matt wiggle in his arms.

"Does that mean he'll have Mommy wrapped around his little finger?" he teased.

"You're horrible," Mac proclaimed, laughing. "What, do you think you just flash that flyboy grin at me and I melt?"

"I know you do," he retorted confidently. He looked down at the baby in her arms. "She looks like you, so I know she'll have me wrapped around her finger."

"Yeah, but she's got your eyes," she pointed out. They both smiled as Sarah yawned, waving her little arms around.

"We did good here, didn't we?" Mac mused softly, her voice full of wonder.

"Yes, we did," Harm replied softly, tears in his eyes.

-----

The End


End file.
